Thirteen Intermountain Healthcare hospitals are suspending all non-urgent surgeries and procedures requiring hospital admission. This policy will take effect on September 15th and will last several weeks.
Intermountain Healthcare President and CEO, Dr. Marc Harrison, said the change comes as hospitals are filling up with COVID-19 patients. Intermountain is taking care of 350 patients across all hospitals, and these numbers continue to rise with the surge of the Delta variant.
Harrison explained that 87% of their COVID-19 patients are young and unvaccinated. He said that while he empathizes with unvaccinated Utahns, people like this should not have to be hospitalized.
