The nine local health organizations within MaineHealth are suspending elective medical procedures and postponing non-urgent office visits to its practices in response to the coronavirus outbreak.  Those cancellations are expected to take place by end of the day Friday.

“Supporting public health efforts to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 in Maine is one of the approaches we can take to protect our patients, families and care teams,” said Joan  Boomsma, MD., chief Medical Officer of MaineHealth.  “Keeping patients at home who are scheduled for non-ugent services rather than having them come to the hospital or office will help keep them safe and reduce the spread of coronavirus.”

MaineHealth is asking that patients NOT call to check on the status of a procedure or office visit, but rather await notice from the hospital or practice.

“We need our front-line people available to help us manage the calls we are receiving with respect to COVID-19 which are considerable,” said Dr. Boomsma.  “While it is understandable that people want information about their pending procedures, calling at this time wouldn’t be productive and could  hamper our efforts to support patients with critical needs.  We want to emphasize that, if someone calls today, we may not be able to provide exact information because we are still in the process of determining what care can and should be postponed,” said Dr. Boomsma.  “We ask that people wait to be notified by their health care provider rather than calling and overwhelming our hospitals and practices.”