“During this unprecedented time we have been caring for emergent patients daily and now we are prepared to slowly phase in elective procedures again as well as in-person clinic visits,” said W. Scott Burnette, CEO, VCU Health Community Memorial Hospital. 

We've taken these steps to keep you safe   

• We are testing every patient for COVID-19 before undergoing surgery, so our teams can take the proper safety measures to care for them and keep others safe. In addition, we are testing all patients before admission to the hospital.  
• We continue using telehealth for patient appointments and to communicate with patients both before and after their surgery.   
• We screen everyone for coronavirus symptoms at our entrances and encourage everyone who enters our facilities to wear a mask. If you do not have one, we will provide one.  
• We have extra hand-washing stations, robust cleaning and disinfecting protocols for our rooms and equipment, and protocols for treating patients with coronavirus symptoms in designated areas to minimize the spread of COVID-19. 
   

Some postponed surgeries already taking place 

We are already performing select surgeries and procedures for cancer and infection that were delayed due to COVID-19 and are urgently needed. 

Our hospitals and emergency rooms are clean and safe -- don't postpone care 

Emergency rooms across the United States are seeing a decrease in visits due to fears of the virus. Paralleling a national trend, from March 20 - April 20, VCU Medical Center saw a 37% decline in patients seeking emergency care for stroke compared to the same time last year. Delaying care can put you at risk of further damaging your health. 

“When we resume elective surgeries and postponed procedures, we want safety as our top priority. Therefore, we will be re-introducing those services gradually,” said Dr. Ike Ibe, Vice President of Medical Affairs at VCU Health CMH.

“We want to assure our patients and their families that it is safe to come to the hospital, and we ask them not to ignore health symptoms that can become major health issues if left unchecked,” Ibe added.