ST. LOUIS — Pandemic Task Force Chair Dr. Clay Dunagan said in his weekly briefing hospitals are notifying patients and rescheduling their visits because hospitals lack the staff and space for patients that don't require emergency or urgent care.
"Elective procedures, although they can be postponed, are important for many, many individuals," Dunagan said.
A scar across his knee shows how far Kevin McCarthy has come, but the journey to mobility was longer than he expected.
"I could not walk all the way through a grocery store. If I walked a block and a half, I was done. That's not a way to live," he said of the issues with his left knee.
Originally scheduled for knee surgery in early November 2020, his procedure was delayed when COVID cases spiked, calling the delay "just crushing."
He eventually went under the knife about three months later. Now, as others go through similar delays, he's sympathetic but not surprised.
"Medicine is wonderful. I wish people would pay attention to it and their doctors. We wouldn't be in this situation," he said.
SSM Health and BJC said they have postponed and rescheduled a small number of elective procedures.
St. Luke's had not made any changes to their patient schedules, and staff at Mercy said they are trying to avoid it.
With his new knee, McCarthy was healthy enough to travel to Greece recently. He says he'd like to travel more, but he wants to make sure everyone is taking the proper precautions.
"Having lived as long as I have, on occasion you have to do some things that you may not want to do, but in your right mind, you know you need to. This is one of those situations," McCarthy said.
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