ST. LOUIS - Due to the number of COVID patients now in its hospitals, BJC HealthCare is postponing all elective procedures starting Thursday.
System officials say the more than 500 COVID patients now in their hospitals "is beyond anything we’ve seen thus far in the pandemic" and it's "nurses, staff and facilities are stretched to their limits." BJC has hospitals in downtown St. Louis, St. Louis County, St. Charles County and multiple locations in the Metro East.
The change will allow it to reassign staff to other areas of the hospital with more urgent needs. Patients with procedures scheduled will be contacted by system officials.
It comes as St. Louis County reported a new record high for new daily COVID-19 infections this week.