UNC Health, Duke Health and WakeMed shared a joint statement on Wednesday saying all three are prioritizing and rescheduling non-critical surgeries, procedures and appointments.

The three health systems made the announcement as they shift to conserve important clinical resources during the ongoing novel coronavirus outbreak. The move also helps protect patients and medical professionals as the systems prepare for more cases across North Carolina.

“This approach is allowing our teams to provide the most appropriate and timely care for our patients,” said the statement, “while at the same time enabling our response to the evolving COVID-19 outbreak in our community. The greatest concern among all three organizations is to ensure that we continue to provide needed care to our patients while also meeting the uncertain demands on our systems associated with COVID-19. Prudent use of resources today will allow us to prepare for the anticipated need.”

The health systems said emergency and other essential services will not be affected by the rescheduling and prioritizing changes. Each has established processes for assessing scheduled surgeries and procedures, based on the current situation and with input from physicians, clinical teams and hospital leadership. All three organizations are following CDC guidance, according to the release, and are working closely with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.

The statement said affected patients will be contacted by their individual healthcare providers regarding any changes to planned surgeries, procedures or ambulatory appointments. If patients do not hear from their providers prior to scheduled appointments, they should contact those providers.

Governor Roy Cooper declared a state of emergency in North Carolina on March 10. Since then, the number of identified cases in the state has risen to 63 as of Wednesday.

UNC Health, Duke Health and WakeMed have each established special sections on their respective websites to share updates on conditions and operations related to COVID-19.

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