OHA President and CEO Mike Abrams offers this statement regarding today's announcement to an order declaring that elective surgeries and procedures in Ohio's hospitals be postponed in an effort to conserve personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers and first responders.

“Ohioans are impacted greatly by the difficult decisions made today and in recent weeks to combat the COVID-19 crisis. Ohio hospitals are now asked to take more extreme measures to ensure the safety and health of our state. We support today’s order by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and Ohio Department of Health Director Amy Acton, MD, to suspend non-essential surgeries and procedures that utilize personal protective equipment at Ohio hospitals. This important effort will help ensure our health care infrastructure is prepared for a surge of COVID-19 patients in our state. OHA convened a statewide group of hospital surgery experts to develop principles for defining what surgeries and procedures should and should not be performed to comply with the Governor’s order. These guidelines preserve key elements of the physician-patient relationship and ensure Ohioans maintain access to necessary services during this crisis. This effort enables hospitals to redirect workforce, equipment and other resources to priority clinical needs.”

Click here to view the March 17 press conference.

Share on Facebook

Share on Twitter

Share by E-Mail

Share on LinkedIn