UW Medicine in Seattle is suspending nonemergency surgeries that require hospitalization, effective Nov. 23 through Feb. 1, according to The Seattle Times.
The suspension of surgeries follows an agreement reached earlier this week by Washington state's hospitals about how they will handle the ongoing surge of COVID-19 patients statewide.
Under the agreement, all of Washington's acute-care hospitals will make "concrete plans" to scale back on elective procedures as needed, reserve intensive care units for COVID-19 or emergency cases, and readily accept patient transfers from other parts of the state, according to the Times report. Hospitals must document the denial of any patient transfers and inform their CEO if a transfer is denied.