UMass Memorial has 1,000 backlogged procedures, could grow to 3,000

Photo | Grant Welker UMass Memorial Health Care's University Campus in Worcester

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By Grant Welker

UMass Memorial Medical Center has a count of coronavirus patients nearing 200, of which 69 are in intensive care. The Worcester hospital is also leading operations at a field hospital at the DCU Center.

But hospital leaders are already planning ahead post-surge, with more than 1,000 procedures backed up through April as UMass Memorial postponed most elective appointments to free up space and personnel and keep patients safe. If the postponement needs to last through May, the backlog will hit around 3,000.

The hospital is planning a series of steps to cut down on that backlog, including adding two temporary operating rooms at the Memorial Campus, extending hours at the Hahnemann Campus, and holding Saturday and evening hours at the Memorial and University campuses. Combined, those moves are estimated to allow for an extra 1,000 procedures over the course of a month, UMass Memorial Medical Center's chief nursing officer and incident commander for coronavirus reponse, Justin Precourt, said in an online forum with staff Friday.

UMass Memorial is planning to keep cautionary steps in place even while eventually returning to somewhat normal operations, Precourt said.

A coronavirus testing tent is planned to remain in place, visitors will still largely be prohibited, and patients will be allowed through a single point of entry only and be screened for coronavirus symptoms. Monitoring of staff symptoms will remain in place.

UMass Memorial's leadership remains focused on present pandemic needs too. Its Psychiatry Treatment and Recovery Center, a 26-bed acute psychiatric unit on Queen Street in Worcester, has been made into what UMass Memorial President Dr. Michael Gustafson said is, to his knowledge, the first psychiatric facility in the state to be converted to negative pressure. Doing so keeps the air in the room of an infected patient from circulating elsewhere and potentially contaminating others.

In the meantime, the hospital's leadership says it expects to have enough personal protective equipment for staff to last through the surge, as well as enough devices such as respirators to not have to resort to choosing which patients to prioritize to receive critical care. Some hospitals, Chief Medical Officer Andrew Karson said, have resorted to making protective gowns out of ponchos.

"Thankfully, we don't need to envision going that route," he said.