BOSTON (AP) – Governor Charlie Baker has announced an emergency order that will require any hospital or hospital system facing limited patient capacity to reduce non-essential, non-urgent scheduled procedures beginning Monday.
The goal of the order is to protect patients and the health care workforce–and to ensure capacity for immediate health care needs–in response to a range of challenges putting pressure on the state’s hospitals.
The guidance, developed by the administration and the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association, was based on several factors including what officials described as critical staff shortages stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.
From The Associated Press