• Ramping up gradually. Ms. Williams says LSDC decided to build
up its case volume slowly to ensure the facility could maintain social
distancing requirements and appropriately clean patient care areas
between cases. The center's ORs operated at 50% capacity for two
weeks after reopening. The facility's leaders then reevaluated the
center's new protocols to determine if case volume could be ramped
up to 75% capacity in weeks three and four.
The results are mixed, according to Ms. Williams. She says the facili-
ty's four ORs have reached the capacity goal, but case volumes in the
five GI procedure rooms remain stagnant due to a perfect storm of
misfortune: furloughed staff in the clinic that refers patients to the
center, delays in securing COVID-19 test results and the retirement of
a top-producing physician.
Elective cases were halted at UConn Health Surgery Center on
March 17 and began again almost a month later. During the first
week back, the center hosted only 12 cases in its five ORs, limiting
the scheduled procedures to pain management procedures and hand
and wrist surgeries — cases that can be done with local blocks
instead of general anesthesia, which increases COVID-19 exposure
risks during aerosol-producing intubation and extubation.
"We wanted also to maintain social distancing protocols and stagger
start times by 30 minutes to ensure patients didn't cross paths," says
Ms. Curley.
The center added more involved orthopedic cases, such as shoulder
scopes, the second week after reopening and planned to bring all five
of its rooms back up to speed on June 1.
"The center's leadership meets weekly to discuss testing trends and
infection rates throughout the state," says Ms. Curley. "We keep moni-
toring and rehashing our status."
Dr. Marx says Upstate Hospital is limiting the number of total cases
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