Guthrie County Hospital is holding off on resuming elective surgeries despite Governor Kim Reynolds loosening restrictions on procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Governor’s proclamation that took effect on April 27th that health care providers may conduct in-patient surgeries and procedures, that if further delayed, will pose a significant risk to quality of life, or that they follow several requirements including having adequate inventories of personal protective equipment without relying on state or local government PPE stockpiles.

GCH Chief Nursing Officer Greg Opseth tells Raccoon Valley Radio how the hospital is operating following the proclamation, “At this point we will not be reopening for elective procedures. We will take this week by week and evaluate the status of the COVID cases in Guthrie County and we’ll evaluate that routinely. We’re working closely with public health and our surgery department to ensure when it will be safe to begin doing the elective procedures at Guthrie County Hospital.”

Outreach Specialty Clinics that GCH provides including dermatology and podiatry are returning this week, and several departments such as occupational therapy, pediatrics, family medicine and more are offering virtual care visits for patients who wish to follow social distancing. More information can be found here.