AKRON, Ohio — Summa Health in Akron announced it has temporarily stopped all elective procedures that require an overnight stay.
The decision does not impact cancer-related care or any emergency services across the system.
Summa said ambulatory surgery sites will remain open and procedures that do not require an overnight stay will continue as scheduled.
“We will evaluate capacity on a weekly basis with the hope of bringing these cases back as quickly as possible. We understand the impact this has on our patients and their families and we apologize for any inconvenience,” Summa said in a statement.
Summa has acquired multiple refrigerated trucks in preparation for the potential need for additional capacity in the morgue.
Transfers will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis as the ability to accept them from other hospitals is limited.
University Hospitals, MetroHealth and Cleveland Clinic issued a joint statement earlier this month to announce that due to a surge in unvaccinated patients with COVID-19 and an unprecedented demand for inpatient care across their facilities, they are near reaching full capacity and are temporarily postponing non-urgent surgeries at some locations.
RELATED: UH, MetroHealth, Cleveland Clinic postpone some non-essential surgeries as COVID patients fill beds
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