North Pima News

These are hard times for Arizona’s hospitals reeling from trying to deal with the COVID-19 virus outbreak while performing treatment for the normal emergencies a hospital handles.

“Arizona hospitals are facing dire financial consequences and furloughing staff, as cutbacks meant to prepare for COVID-19 cases have instead cost them as much as $575 million a month, about 30-40% of normal revenues statewide,” an ABC 15 report said.

Under the direction of Arizona's Republican Gov. Doug Ducey, hospital officials canceled elective patient surgeries attempting to keep enough beds free for virus patients. A drop in emergency room visits has resulted in a hit to the income hospitals depend on to remain solvent.

“The industry has (profit) margins of only 3-4%,” the ABC 15 report noted.

The result is a plummeting budget in which health care centers find themselves at risk of having to close or reduce staff.

Dr. Daniel Derksen, director of the Arizona Center for Rural Health at the University of Arizona, told ABC 15 hospitals will be running in the red financially.

“If you don’t have the revenues to support paying your nurses and physicians and staff and transport, lab, imaging, X-rays, those types of things, it creates just an untenable situation,” he said.

Last week Ducey told Tucson.com he is looking to restore the ability of Arizona hospitals to do elective surgeries.

He said he issued a directive last month halting elective surgeries to make sure there was an adequate supply of protective equipment including masks, gowns and gloves, to handle the surge in expected cases of COVID-19.

The peak of the virus outbreak has been predicted possibly for the end of this month, or perhaps into May.

Holly Ward, spokeswoman for the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association, told Tuscon.com there needs to be financial relief to keep hospitals afloat.

Ducey said he understands the problems.

“If we’re in a position where we’ve got enough supply that we have available inventory and we have product on the way as well, I am open-minded to resuming elective surgery,” he said.

Ducey said it would be done in steps.

“I would think this would be something where we would start with our rural hospitals first, and then, over a period of time, we would extend it into the urban core,” he said. “It would be as soon as I have data that gives me the confidence to make a decision.”