The increasing number of COVID patients is leading UR Medicine to postpone elective and semi-elective surgical procedures for three weeks, starting Monday.
The pause affects only elective procedures that would require post-operative care in the hospital.
Walk-in patients at non-hospital surgical centers aren't affected. Those patients whose surgeries are being postponed are being contacted.
As of November 30th, UR Medicine says it had 110 active cases at Strong Memorial Hospital and 254 across its entire six-hospital system.
That's partly because nursing homes haven't been able to take discharged patients because they lack the staff to care for them.