Elective procedures delayed to support COVID-19 response

Faced with unprecedented need to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, UW Medicine is postponing elective and non-urgent surgeries and procedures through March 31.

The move covers all healthcare facilities and will take effect Monday, March 16, for Harborview Medical Center, University of Washington Medical Center (Montlake and Northwest campuses) and on Wednesday, March 18, at Valley Medical Center in Renton.

“Our mission is to safeguard and improve public health, and our highest priority now is to control the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Lisa Brandenburg, president of UW Medicine hospitals and clinics. ‘We regret the inconvenience this delay places on our elective surgery patients. We look forward to caring for their needs as soon as we can control COVID-19 and reduce the demand it has placed on our staff and resources.”

Patients who have elective surgeries scheduled are being notified. They will be rescheduled as the COVID-19 pandemic is controlled. That will enable UW Medicine providers and facilities to regain capacity and respond again to elective surgery needs.

Clinic visits

It is still safe for patients to receive care at the UW Neighborhood Clinics and urgent-care clinics, and we are shifting as many appointments as possible to telehealth to prevent viral exposure to patients and care teams. Some non-urgent specialty visits and procedures may be delayed until the outbreak has subsided. 

Importantly, if patients experience fever or respiratory symptoms, we ask them to call their healthcare provider before coming in to any clinic setting.

For details about UW Medicine, please visit http://uwmedicine.org/about.