Prognosis
Hospitals Cancel Surgeries to Preserve Staff During Covid Surge
As beds fill with more than 85,000 Covid-19 cases, U.S. facilities struggle again to treat other patients
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A growing number of hospitals around the U.S. have canceled or delayed some planned medical procedures to preserve staff and beds for a surging number of Americans sick with Covid-19.
Conditions remain especially acute in the Midwest and West. From Illinois to Idaho, health systems are limiting non-emergency surgeries as the pandemic’s strain on personnel grows. Putting off planned procedures that patients can defer safely is one of the few levers hospitals have to adjust their capacity as the virus spreads unchecked.