Nebraska Governor Extends Limit on Elective Surgeries Through October

Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts on Wednesday announced that the state is extending a directed health measure that limits elective surgeries and procedures.

It postpones inpatient surgeries that can wait four weeks or more without substantially changing a patient’s outcome. The measure has been in place since late August when Ricketts declared a hospital staffing emergency.

Methodist Health System was among area health systems that had announced a limit prior to the state’s health measure.

Dr. Garnet Blatchford, chief medical officer at Methodist Hospital and Methodist Women’s Hospital, told The World-Herald Wednesday that some surgeries canceled last month will now be canceled again.

People who are planning to have surgery may get a phone call with fairly short notice to postpone their procedure, she said.

“This involves a lot of extra work on nursing that’s already pretty stressed and pretty tired of the whole pandemic,” Blatchford said.

Omaha World-Herald: Ricketts extends limit on elective surgeries through October