Kingman, Arizona, January 15, 2021 – As hospital admissions continue to rise, Kingman Regional Medical Center (KRMC) will postpone some non-urgent elective surgical procedures by a few weeks. This is a temporary measure intended to reserve staff and resources to care for COVID-19 patients.
Throughout the pandemic, KRMC has prioritized providing healthcare to our community with minimal interruption to our patients. We have been able to strategically arrange services and redeploy staff within our organization so we could keep all service lines open.
As COVID-19 cases climb in the region, hospitals are reporting increased admissions. At KRMC, the positive rate of patients tested for COVID has roughly tripled since November, with hospitalizations showing a similar increase.
As of January 2, KRMC’s average number of inpatients with COVID per day was 65, compared with 42 on December 5, and 25 on November 21. As of today’s release, 72 patients with COVID-19 are hospitalized at KRMC.
Many patients are extremely ill, requiring long hospital stays. More hospital staff are testing positive for COVID-19 and taking time away from work to recover.
By postponing elective or non-urgent procedures, KRMC can redeploy more staff and resources to care for hospitalized COVID-19 patients.
While emergency surgeries will still occur, other procedures will be evaluated at the surgeon’s discretion for possible deferment. KRMC staff will notify all patients who must be rescheduled.
KRMC extends sincere thanks to our community for their patience and understanding throughout this crisis.