On March 19, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey banned all elective medical procedures at Arizona hospitals. Weeks later, the financial losses for some regional hospitals are stacking up. In Yuma County, there are 20 confirmed cases of COVID-19. The relatively small number has the local hospital CEO asking state leaders for some leeway on the ban. KAWC’s Lou Gum reports.
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Yuma Regional Medical Center CEO Dr. Robert Trenschel says the cost of added supplies like personal protection equipment, coupled with the governor's ban on elective procedures, is a strain on hospital finances. He says the ban alone costs the hospital $400,000 a day. He adds the low number of COVID-19 cases in the county should allow for some flexibility...
"We could easily add elective procedures into our daily routine right now," Trenschel told KAWC. "And you know we’re not looking for holdout from the state, we’re not looking for free money, we just really want to be able to get back to work and make the decision for the hospital that we do every day in terms of providing safe care for our patients."
Trenschel said the 400-bed hospital is less than half full and ready with equipment and staff to handle an increase in COVID-19 patients if necessary.
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You can hear more from Dr. Trencshel on a special Arizona Edition, Monday morning at 9 a.m. on KAWC 88.9 FM, kawc.org and on the KAWC app.
