INDIANAPOLIS — IU Health is suspending 50% of elective surgeries and procedures to alleviate pressure on staff starting Monday.
In a statement released on Thursday, IU Health said the following:
As COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations surge across the state, IU Health will temporarily suspend 50% of all inpatient elective surgeries and procedures throughout the system, beginning Monday, Aug. 30. The move is needed to alleviate some of the enormous pressure our care teams are under and to reserve inpatient space for those who need it most. Elective surgery patients (non-emergent, non-urgent) are being notified now and will be rescheduled about three weeks out.
Last month, Ascension St. Vincent, Franciscan Health and Eskenazi Health announced they would all be putting COVID-19 vaccine requirements in place for staff.
Ascension St. Vincent announced that all employees, whether or not they provide direct patient care, will be required to get the COVID-19 vaccine by November 12, 2021.
Franciscan Health says by August 31, all coworkers and medical staff members will be required to submit a copy of their state-issued proof of vaccination or a Franciscan laboratory test result for a test performed in August affirming that they have a sufficient level of immunity to the COVID-19 virus.
Eskenazi Health said it is also requiring all staff to get the vaccine by September 20.
On Friday, the Indiana Department of Health reported that 21 more people died with COVID-19 and 4,893 others tested positive for the virus.
There have been 843,700 positive cases and 13,936 confirmed deaths in Indiana since the pandemic began. An additional 437 probable COVID-19 deaths have also been reported.
A total of 2,186 people are in the hospital with COVID-19, an increase of 78 since Thursday, Aug. 26.
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