Amid a COVID-19 surge, health systems in Maine and Michigan are adjusting their surgical volumes as they grapple with a rise in hospitalizations.
On Dec. 6, Ann Arbor-based Michigan Medicine reported 112 total COVID-19 admissions of adults and children.
These increases have forced the health system to reduce its surgical volume by 20 percent, according to David Miller, MD, president of University of Michigan Health System.
"We just don't have the beds," Dr. Miller said Dec. 8 in a news release. "This week alone we've canceled more than 40 cases. These are heartbreaking decisions that have significant health impacts for the patients and significant consequences for the families who are also affected by these cancellations."
Dr. Miller added that patients should not skip going to the emergency department if they need emergency care.
Portland-based MaineHealth — which serves 1.1 million people in 11 counties in Maine and Carroll County, N.H. — is also adjusting its surgical volumes.
On Dec. 8, the health system reported 116 patients in its hospitals being treated for COVID-19, 82 of whom were unvaccinated.
In response to the surge, many procedures that can be postponed without significant harm to the patient have been rescheduled, according to a news release.
Joel Botler, MD, CMO of Maine Medical Center, said in the news release that the hospital has had to close an additional six operating rooms, in addition to six that were already closed, to free up workers to provide care and create additional bed space. He said about 50 percent of surgeries at Maine Medical Center, also in Portland, are now being rescheduled.
The reduction in surgeries at Michigan Medicine and MaineHealth come as the states recently hit record numbers of COVID-19 hospitalizations.
In Maine, state officials reported a new pandemic high of 361 patients in hospitals the morning of Dec. 6, including 112 people in intensive care and 60 patients on ventilators, according to the Portland Press Herald.
In Michigan, 4,638 COVID-19 patients were hospitalized on Dec. 6, higher than a previous record set in November 2020, according to HHS data cited by CNN.
Amid the surge, Maine Gov. Janet Mills announced Dec. 8 that she has activated additional members of the Maine National Guard, and requested federal COVID-19 response teams to supplement hospital staff and the Maine National Guard.