FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 5/12/2020

Gothenburg, NE— Elective Surgeries Resuming at Gothenburg Health on May 18.

Gothenburg Health announced today it will resume elective surgery and outpatient procedures on May 18. This announcement comes after Governor Ricketts announced that hospitals in Nebraska can resume elective surgeries beginning May 4 if:

• 30% of hospital beds, ICU beds, and ventilators are available.
• Hospitals must have two weeks’ worth of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) on site.

While Gothenburg Health met these requirements earlier this month, the facility chose to wait before starting up procedures. This decision was made in an abundantly cautious response to the recent increase of cases in the Dawson County area. With the support of our local health department and a recent stabilization of area cases, Gothenburg Health feels comfortable moving forward with May 18 as the targeted opening date.

Elective surgeries were previously suspended to prioritize the use of PPE, staffing, ventilators, and other equipment for COVID-19 inpatient care. With these efforts well-controlled, Gothenburg Health looks forward to resuming care for our patient population.

Gothenburg Health CEO, Mick Brant, commented, “While we did the right thing when we suspended elective surgeries back in March, it remains vital that we provide our service area with necessary diagnostic and preventative care. That care can only be postponed to a certain extent before patients suffer a preventable adverse outcome. We have strong support from our medical team and local health department to ensure we are incredibly safe performing procedures in-house. We will continue closely monitoring our PPE supplies and remain prepared for a potential, yet unlikely, surge of COVID-19 patients.”

Some new safety protocols implemented by Gothenburg Health include the following:

• All patients scheduled for elective surgeries will be tested for COVID-19. A negative test result within a specified window of time will be required to proceed with surgery.
• Gothenburg Health will continue wearing job-appropriate masks, goggles, and/or face shields. ·
• Anyone entering Gothenburg Health’s building (patients, employees, and visitors) will continue to be required to wear a mask and get screened for COVID-19 symptoms.
• Any potentially infectious patients will continue to be screened and cared for in isolated areas, protecting non-infectious patients.
• Rigorous cleaning and disinfection of high-touch areas will continue.

“Patient and employee safety is always the number one priority, now more than ever,” explained Brant. “We are confident in our risk mitigation efforts and hope the abundance of safety measures implemented can help give patients peace of mind about coming into our facility.”

Gothenburg Health will contact patients to reschedule procedures that may have been canceled or postponed during the last two months. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call the surgery office: 308-537-4068.

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Treating COVID-19 patients

Gothenburg Health has not had a COVID-19 positive inpatient to date. All positive COVID-19 patients under our care are managing themselves well at home and are being monitored by their provider and Two Rivers Public Health Department.