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Coffee@KYUK, May 6: Some Elective Procedures Resuming At YKHC

The Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation is opening it's doors to some elective and routine procedures following new state health mandates amidst the coronavirus epidemic.
Katie Basile
/
KYUK

The Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation is resuming many, but not all of its services. Chief of Staff Dr. Ellen Hodges said that the Bethel hospital is trying to keep some of its facilities available in case there is a surge of COVID-19 cases in the region.

“With the state reopening, we don’t know if we’ll suddenly get an increase in cases. And if that happens, we have to increase our capacity. We want to have some reserve left in our system,” Hodges said.

Hodges said that those patients coming to the hospital will notice some major changes. “Everyone, staff and patients alike, has to wear a mask as soon as they enter the hospital, and keep the mask on at all times.”

There will also be lots of routine testing for the coronavirus at YKHC. Most people will have to call ahead for appointments, and they will be asked questions about if they have symptoms of COVID-19, and whether they have traveled and where. Many will be required to get tested for COVID-19, especially those getting the type of dental care that generates the droplets that can carry the virus through the air.

“They have a machine that can be used to clean the teeth that creates a fine spray like an ultrasonic cleaner, and anytime you have to have drilling done. Those are the things that generate aerosols. Those people have to be tested,” Hodges said.

YKHC is equipped to conduct those tests. Dental patients that need testing will be required to get the COVID-19 tests 48 hours before getting the care. Hodges added that under the new rules, there will be few walk-in patients at the clinic or hospital, and those that do arrive without an appointment will be tested for the coronavirus. She said that most people will need to call ahead for appointments, and if you have certain symptoms, you may be denied care.

“So, we’re just trying to be as cautious and conservative as we can possibly can. So if someone is having a cough, or runny nose, or symptoms that could be suggestive of COVID, we don’t schedule the appointment unless it is a life-threatening emergency, which can happen in dental or other procedures. We’re trying to not schedule procedures unless it’s truly is life-threatening,” Hodges said.

In addition, the hospital staff will not be doing some routine procedures unless it is an emergency, because the plan is to keep facilities open in case of a surge in COVID-19 cases.

“So we do have the capacity to do things like colonoscopies, mammographies, and things like that. We’re delaying the opening of those services. And the main reason for that is to preserve local infrastructure and to allow for capacity in case we have a COVID-19 surge,” Hodges said.

Bethel is in a fortunate position to keep the coronavirus pandemic out. There are only five flights a week bringing people into the hub community. And with only one positive case so far, the plan is to keep it that way. YKHC has set up voluntary airport testing for all passengers, and Hodges said that, so far, almost half the people landing in Bethel have taken the tests. Almost half of those who didn’t take the tests had already been tested in Anchorage, leaving around 25 to 30 percent who come to town and have not been tested for COVID-19.

Since it is before symptoms materialize that people are most contagious, the tests can give an early “heads up.” Hodges said that everyone who flies to Bethel should be encouraged to get tested to help protect the community and the surrounding villages. All YKHC staff members who head out to the villages get tested before they go.

Katie Baldwin Basile is an independent photographer and multimedia storyteller from Bethel, Alaska.