Beaufort Memorial is resuming some elective outpatient surgeries in its outpatient Surgery Center while deploying strict environmental, screening and testing protocols to protect patients and staff. The Beaufort Memorial Surgery Center is located on the hospital campus in a stand-alone facility.
The move comes weeks after the hospital discontinued elective procedures following Gov. Henry McMaster’s request that hospitals cancel cases to prepare for an anticipated surge in COVID-19 cases. In late April, state officials announced that the “peak” had passed as the numbers of cases began to level out in mid-April and hospitals’ capacities statewide began to increase.
“We’re going to move slowly and judiciously to schedule cases in our outpatient surgery center,” said Russell Baxley, BMH President and CEO. “We have put into place several processes to ensure staff and patient safety and, while the measures may seem overly conservative, we believe they are in the best interests of everyone involved.”
Those measures include:
• Temperature pre-screening for every staff member before entering the building.
• COVID-19 testing of every patient three days prior to surgery.
• Self-isolation for three days before surgery.
• Completed patient temperature logs due on the day of surgery.
• Prohibiting visitors from entering the building.
“Our number one priority is the safety of our patients and staff,” Baxley said. “We believe that a slow and steady approach to this process is the best course, and it is one we will continue as we evaluate resuming services and surgeries in the hospital on a go forward basis.”
For current information about hospital-wide COVID-19 restrictions, visit beaufortmemorial.org/covid19.
