Jackson Health System in Miami will cancel all nonemergent surgeries July 6 to preserve capacity for a rising number of COVID-19 patients, according to the Miami Herald.
Carlos Migoya, CEO of Jackson Health, told Miami-Dade commissioners during an emergency meeting on the county's COVID-19 response that July will be a "hot" month for COVID-19 admissions, and a reduction in nonemergent surgeries and other electives will help the system prepare.
The number of COVID-19 patients across the health system's hospitals has doubled to 296 in the past two weeks, with 80 patients in intensive care. The hospital is already seeing signs of strain from COVID-19, Mr. Migoya told the commissioners. There's been an increase in the portion of Jackson employees testing positive for the novel virus in addition to a testing backlog. Plus supplies of remdesivir, an antiviral drug that has been shown in federally funded studies to shorten recovery time and improve outcomes for COVID-19 patients, are dwindling.
"Are we having a challenge with staffing? Absolutely," Mr. Migoya said, according to the Miami Herald. "All of South Florida is going through a similar kind of situation." Mr. Migoya said Jackson is hiring new nurses and is ready to convert operating room staff to ICU positions if needed.
Read the full report here.