UW Medicine Cancels Elective Surgeries Amid Coronavirus Outbreak

SEATTLE, WA — UW Medicine is one of several Seattle-area hospitals that will postpone all elective surgeries to devote more resources to the growing COVID-19 outbreak.

The move by UW Medicine, announced Saturday, will take effect starting Monday at Harborview Medical Center and UW Medical Centers Montlake and Northwest; and starting Wednesday at Valley Medical Center.

“Our mission is to safeguard and improve public health, and our highest priority now is to control the COVID-19 pandemic,” Lisa Brandenburg, president of UW Medicine hospitals and clinics, said in a statement.

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Meanwhile, Seattle Children's Hospital stopped elective surgeries earlier this week at its Seattle and Bellevue hospitals and will stop procedures next week, the Seattle Times reported. Swedish Hospital stopped elective surgeries and procedures at its locations on Friday, and VA Puget Sound Health Care System also halted surgeries last week according to the Times.

Hospitals around the Puget Sound are bracing for increasing numbers of COVID-19 patients expected to seek treatment at regional hospitals as the novel coronavirus spreads in the region.

Experts say that "flattening the curve" of the pandemic — making it spread more slowly through social distancing measures — is a critical way to avoid overwhelming the country's hospitals.

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