March 19, 2020 / Jon Asplund, Crain’s Chicago Business
Providers such as Cancer Treatment Centers of America say they’re able to lessen the burden during the coronavirus pandemic.
Amid concerns that hospitals on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic will be overwhelmed, specialty hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers and other health care settings may be enlisted to take on patients who aren’t infected.
Dr. Pat Basu, president and CEO of Boca Raton, Fla.-based Cancer Treatment Centers of America, says his facilities are ready to accept patients.
“I’m telling hospitals ‘You’ve got patients we can take on, I’ll get your doctors temporarily credentialed,” so acute-care hospitals can focus on taking care of COVID-19 cases, Basu said. Beyond accepting cancer patients, the company can find ways to help with other surgery needs and ICU overflow, he said.
In just the Chicago area, CTCA has 73 inpatient beds, 24 ICU beds, five operating rooms and six ventilators, a spokeswoman said in an email.
Specialty hospitals can care for patients who are not infected with coronavirus but still need care, especially those whose conditions are not emergencies but should not wait for treatment, Basu said.
