Postponement of Elective Surgeries and Procedures

To help stop the spread of COVID-19, the Louisiana Department of Health issued a mandate on the afternoon of March 18 to all licensed health care facilities and health care professionals licensed by the state board of medical examiners and state board of nursing to postpone all elective medical procedures for a period of 30 days effective March 19 through April 21. The notice reads:

“The State of Louisiana, Department of Health is committed to taking critical steps to ensure public health and safety; to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the State of Louisiana, Department of Health, is DIRECTING AND REQUIRING that all licensed healthcare facilities in Louisiana and all healthcare professionals licensed by the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners or the Louisiana State Board of Nursing, adhere to the following provisions, restrictions, and limitations, EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY:

"The department hereby directs that any and all medical and surgical procedures that, in the medical opinion and judgment of the physician or other appropriate healthcare professional acting with the scope of his/her license, can be safely postponed for a period of 30 days, SHALL be postponed for a period of 30 days. This 30-day period shall run from March 19, 2020 through April 21, 2020, unless otherwise extended in writing by the department.”

What does this mean to North Oaks patients?

At North Oaks, we now have a team working with physicians to look at what outpatient procedures and surgeries that are scheduled in this timeframe can be postponed safely. We’re also looking at appointments and diagnostic testing, also in consultation with our physicians, to determine which can be postponed safely without worsening patient conditions. We have started making phone calls to patients impacted by this mandate and expect to continue doing so over the next several weeks to reschedule thousands of appointments and surgeries occurring between March 19 and April 21.

North Oaks Health System thanks you for working together to keep our community safe during this time. We're in this together.

Click here for COVDI-19 health system updates.