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COLCHESTER, Vermont — Three people underwent elective outpatient procedures at Vermont’s largest hospital, which is now ramping back up nonemergency services.
MyNBC5.com reports that the three procedures took place Wednesday at the University of Vermont Medical Center’s Fanny Allen campus in Colchester. Overnight stays will resume in the coming weeks.
“We have a lot of people who have been very patiently waiting to get procedures that they really need,” the medical center’s president, Dr. Stephen Leffler, said.
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Leffler said the hospital’s goal is to get back to doing 60 percent of the procedures they were doing pre-COVID-19, which will allow for patients to be socially distant and for the cleaning of operating rooms between cases.
The hospital hopes to reach the 60 percent goal over the next four to six weeks, hospital spokesperson Annie Mackin said in an email. The hospital would stay at 60 percent until further notice to keep patients and staff safe and manage supplies of personal protective equipment.
The move comes after Vermont Gov. Phil Scott updated his executive order to allow for the resumption of certain medical procedures.