STANFORD — Previously delayed surgeries, diagnostic tests and other procedures at Stanford Health Care hospitals resumed on Monday after the system tested over 11,000 of its 14,000 employees.
The university health care system announced on Tuesday that 99.7 percent of employees without symptoms tested negative following a decision to provide COVID-19 exams for all patient-facing workers.
Officials say 0.3 percent of those without symptoms did test positive, though there have not been any recorded transmissions of the coronavirus between patients and health care workers.
Given the low rate of infection and safety measures that the hospital system has put in place, officials decided to start treating patients who have been waiting weeks for care.
“Stanford Medicine prepared for the worst, and now we’re ready to resume much of what was put on pause during this health crisis,” said David Entwistle, president and CEO of Stanford Health Care. “We have planned for this recovery and restoration, and I’m confident that we can hit the ground running.”
Stanford Medicine halted nonemergency procedures on March 13 in an effort to prepare for a possible flood of COVID-19 patients. Since then, Stanford Hospital, Stanford ValleyCare and Stanford Children’s Health have been treating coronavirus patients and those with needs that could not wait more than 30 days. Other clinics and hospitals in the health system were serving only patients with urgent needs.
But the surge of patients never arrived.
Now Stanford Health officials are looking to the future and toward a return to normalcy. Last week, Stanford Health Care staff started rescheduling patient procedures, and this week procedure rooms will operate at about 50 to 60 percent capacity.
Registered Nurse and administrative director of operations Amy Semple said she expects to be 100 percent within about three weeks. She said all operations except cosmetic ones have resumed or are planned to resume.
“With all the cases that have been waiting, it shouldn’t take long before we’re back to normal,” she said.
