By Jondi Gumz
With hospital beds kept open across the state for COVID-19 patients that haven’t materialized, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday that hospitals are free to schedule elective surgeries that are critical to health.
He gave examples such as heart valve replacements, tumor removals and colonoscopies.
Dr. Gail Newel
Santa Cruz County Health Officer Dr. Gail Newel said the governor made the decision “to keep hospitals economically feasible so they can respond to the surge if needed.”
Added Dr. David Ghilarducci, the county’s EMS medical director, “Other needs were being drowned out by COVID-19 preparations.”
What does the governor’s order mean for Dominican Hospital, the only medical facility in Santa Cruz with an emergency department?
A Dominican Hospital spokesperson provided this statement: “Now that we have data showing that the initial peak of the pandemic is behind us, we are preparing to safely resume some elective procedures at our care sites in the coming weeks. The safety of our patients and staff always come first … We won’t be able to provide every service right away–rather this will be a gradual process, with the most urgent procedures being prioritized using a process created by our clinical teams … We hope to share more information soon.”
Becky Steinbruner of Aptos has been waiting to get surgery at Stanford Hospital. • Photo credit Jondi Gumz
The criteria for resuming procedures will be based on guidance from the federal Centers for Disease Control, US Surgeon General, American Hospital Association, and the national associations of nurses, surgeons and anesthesiologists.
Precautions such limiting visitors and requiring masking for staff and patients will stay in place.
As of May 10 in Santa Cruz County, a total of 141 people have been confirmed positive for COVID-19, two people have died, 21 people have gotten hospital treatment, and 4,792 have gotten negative test results.
Of the positive cases, 19 are health care workers, according to Newel.
As of April 23, six people in Santa Cruz County were hospitalized — three confirmed and three suspected — because of COVID-19, according to the state’s database, and one confirmed patient was in the intensive care unit.
Epidemiologists had predicted Santa Cruz County would need 100 ICU ventilator beds at the worst of the COVID-19 emergency, and a peak was projected for April 14, but the peak did not materialize and the forecasts have changed.
On Thursday, county health officials made public for the first time the modeling used to predict future COVID-19 cases.
The model is based on the time it takes for the number of cases to double.
Initially, cases were doubling every six days.
Since the “shelter in place” order was issued March 16 and non-essential businesses were ordered to close, it took 11 days for cases to double.
Since April 5, it’s taking close to 24 days for cases to double.
During the past two weeks, new cases trickled in at one to three per day with a spike of four on Wednesday.
Santa Cruz County Health Officer Dr. Gail Newel pointed out those numbers can change quickly, as they did when 16 year-round farmworkers were diagnosed positive in Monterey County.
Mimi Hall, director of the county’s Health Services Agency, said Thursday that the peak is now projected for August.
Newel said the change in forecast is “a good sign we’re doing the right thing.”
Hall said a recovery team has been formed to discus what might resume besides elective surgery.
Dentistry especially for safety-net patients is under consideration.
For more businesses to reopen, health officials want more testing and “contact tracing” in place.
Contact tracing is the labor-intensive task of finding out who has been exposed to someone who has tested positive.
Hall said Community Foundation Santa Cruz County has hired someone to oversee new testing sites.
As for the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk and its rides, she said, “Those are going to be the last on the list” to reopen, suggesting the amusement park look at what could operate under new safety guidelines, such as retail shops and food services.