OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – Once this weekend wraps up, Nebraska Medicine will return to a normal operating status.
Cory Shaw, the hospital’s chief operating officer said there will be “full unlimited access to surgeons and their patients,” starting Monday.
For several months, the community has been up against Omicron, a volatile COVID-19 variant, forcing Nebraska Medicine to carefully navigate a staged transition into and out of crisis mode.
At the height of this, nearly 600 patients had their elective surgical procedures delayed in order for the hospital to offer care to patients with the most critical needs, as covid cases surged and threatened the availability of hospital beds.
All of that was happening with roughly ten percent of their workforce out because of covid related issues and an already strained shortage of healthcare workers.
About a month ago, Nebraska Medicine started to roll back some of their crisis of care plans, and this move to greenlight their full spectrum of services at all locations brings them full circle.
Shaw acknowledged while it was tough on patients, his staff never mistook procedures that were ‘non-emergency’ to mean ‘not important.’
“We understand that some of those individuals who have had cases or care delayed, really can’t get back to work until they have an issue that they have a clinical need for, taken care of,” said Shaw.
However, he continued to request patience on behalf of the hospital’s front-line workers.
Before anyone rushes to the phone to snag the earliest available slot, he reassures his team is already working on that, but because of the demand, it could up to two months to get everyone completely rescheduled.
That’s if the presence of COVID in the community remains low.
‘We still have stroke and cardiovascular emergencies that require people to get care immediately that we can’t defer,” said Shaw in regards to the daily demands of the hospital, too.
