Arizona Edition
Show Number 60
Hand-washing, social distancing, small gatherings, staying home, facemasks.
All of this we do (by varying degrees) to protect the vulnerable in our community, ourselves and our loved ones from the COVID-19 virus.
Here in Yuma we also do it to spare the area's only hospital, Yuma Regional Medical Center, from an influx of COVID-19 patients that would stretch the hospital's resources thin, put medical workers at risk and threaten the foundation of medical care in the community.
But with 20 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Yuma County (as of April 13) and only one or two added per day in recent weeks – some days seeing no new cases added at all – is the curve flat enough to get the hospital back in business, including resuming elective procedures which were banned by Governor Doug Deucy March 19? It's a ban that is losing the hospital hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue per day.
We sat down with Yuma Regional Medical Center President and CEO, Dr. Robert Trenschel, to hear more about how the hospital prepared for COVID-19 and why he is asking state officials for flexibility to allow YRMC to offer elective procedures again.