Reprint from the Chicago Tribune By Lisa Schencker, Dan Petrella and Joe Mahr Chicago Tribune | Jan 03, 2022 at 5:15 PM
Chicago-area hospitals and other sites testing for the coronavirus. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
Chicago-area hospitals are postponing many elective surgeries, as Illinois on Sunday set a record for COVID-19 hospitalizations.
The news of postponed surgeries comes just days after Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the Illinois Health and Hospital Association urged hospitals to delay non emergency procedures as needed, without risking patient harm. They issued the plea in anticipation of a post-holiday, omicron-driven surge and potential shortage of staffed intensive-care beds.
Chicago-area hospitals are stressed as they deal with influxes of COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 patients amid industry wide staffing shortages. The vast majority of hospitalized COVID-19 patients are un-vaccinated, doctors say.
North Shore University Health System, which has six hospitals, has largely suspended elective surgeries for the next two weeks, said CEO and President J.P. Gallagher.