MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – Faced with a mandate to stop elective surgeries, hospitals like Mt. Sinai Medical Center on Miami Beach suddenly had to put the brakes on one of the most active aspects of their institution.
“We had our patient safety in mind. We needed to make sure we protected our patients and our healthcare providers,” said Dr. Kfir Ben-David, Chairman of the Department of Surgery.
As elective procedures resume, the hospital environment has changed to meet the ongoing challenges in safety with physicians and surgeons speaking with patients ahead of time about what to expect.
“And what they should expect is the day they come in, before they come in, they will get tested to make sure they don’t have a COVID infection and the reason we do that is we want to make sure they’re safe and our staff is safe,” he said.
The day before their scheduled procedure, patients are tested for COVID-19. If the test comes back negative they’re given the “green light” to come to the hospital for their operation.
“They come through a different route. We operate in our brand new tower where we don’t have any COVID patients so there is no interaction between our staff taking care of elective surgeries and our staff in our COVID unit,” Ben-David said.
Along with pre-check guidelines, the new patient rooms are larger and equipped with special airflow and ventilation technology.
“We’re taking every possible step to make sure you’re safe, your family is safe, our staff is safe, and everybody has your best interest in mind,” Ben-David said.