BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) – Catholic Health's decision to halt hospital and nursing home visitation beginning Friday was made out of an "abundance of caution" according to its chief executive officer.
"If the community spread is going to continue, why would we bring that into a place where people need to be safe and heal?" Sullivan said Thursday on WBEN. "We realize the community may be a little bit upset because they have loved ones in the hospital. We love them as much as they do from a care standpoint. We, of course, will honor end-of-life wishes and have people come in to visit loved ones but we thought it was a prudent measures to take ahead of time just to protect our patients being cared for, new moms, and our incredible associates and caregivers at the bedside."
In the early weeks of the pandemic, hospitals across the state were required to halt elective surgeries, which damaged hospitals financially.
However, Sullivan doesn't believe that will happen again despite the rise of coronavirus cases locally. The supply of masks and other protective equipment were some of the reasons why he believes electives will still be allowed.
"Elective surgeries could change if there was an issue with capacity in hospitals," Sullivan said. "That rests with the citizens ability to stop the spread, wearing their masks, and social distancing. It's a different environment now."
Sullivan also suggested that their St. Joseph Campus in Cheektowaga will not need to become a "COVID-only" hospital like they were in the spring. Instead, he believes it will have both patients for coronavirus and those for other needs.
Hear more from Sullivan's interview on A New Morning with Susan Rose and Brian Mazurowski
