Oregon’s healthcare industry got some much-needed good news Thursday when Gov. Kate Brown announced healthcare providers will soon be allowed to resume non-urgent medical procedures — as long as they can meet coronavirus safety and preparedness requirements.

Brown said she will lift an order delaying such procedures, allowing them to resume May 1. That means hospitals, surgical centers and medical and dental offices that meet the new requirements will be able to start performing many standard procedures late next week.

COVID-19 has been a catastrophe for some hospitals, medical clinics and other healthcare providers. Some hospitals were virtually emptied of paying customers when elective surgeries were banned.

The state will not fund a $200 million hospital assistance fund requested by the industry, Brown said. She did say she is willing to create some sort of financial fund for Oregon hospitals but is waiting to see the details of the latest federal economic stimulus package before committing to any details.

The announcement came the same day that Oregon Health & Science University said it will lower salaries for about 4,500 employees to deal with big financial losses connected to COVID-19. Other hospitals and health systems are likely to make similar cuts.

“As anyone waiting for an elective surgery knows, ‘non-urgent’ does not mean ‘minor,'” Brown said in a statement. “This is incredibly important medical care that we would not have told providers to delay if the threat of COVID-19 had not made it necessary.”

Hospitals will have to keep 20% of their beds open in case of a surge in coronavirus cases, Brown said, and they and clinics, surgical centers and dental offices will have to guarantee their workers and patients have adequate protective gear.

Clinics and surgery centers should phase up slowly, initially keeping patient levels at just half the rate in normal times, she said.

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Healthcare industry associations thanked Brown for ending the ban on elective procedures.

“This has been a top priority for members, and we appreciate that the Governor prioritized this important work,” said Becky Hultberg, president of the Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems. “We supported the decision to pause elective procedures to preserve PPE for the COVID-19 fight, but we also understand that it’s not safe to delay some of these procedures indefinitely.”

The hospital trade group also applauded what it called Brown’s “pledge" to create an assistance fund, arguing that small-town Oregon will be among the beneficiaries.

"Many hospitals are the largest employers in their communities and their continued financial health is essential both to the COVID-19 fight and the long term health of the communities they serve,” the group said in its statement.

Urban practitioners are also hurting. The Oregon Clinic, one of the largest doctor-owned chain of clinics in the Portland area, has furloughed about 820 employees. The Portland Clinic, another physician-owned chain, furloughed 180 employees and cut the pay and hours of 250 others earlier this week.

For operations like these, which offer relatively simple medical procedures, diagnostic tests and outpatient surgeries, the ban eliminated their bread-and-butter services.

Republicans in the Legislature said rural medical practitioners deserved some quick and favorable treatment after they “made a huge sacrifice” and agreed to close their doors and comply with Brown’s stay-home order.

“We saw a spike in unemployment claims in the medical field, and countless Oregonians were not able to receive treatment,” House Republican leader Christine Drazan said in a written statement. “Now, those facilities can get back to work and Oregonians will once again have access to necessary medical procedures.”

Also Thursday, the legislative Emergency Board sparred over a proposed $50 million state assistance package.

Republicans from rural districts and Sen. Betsy Johnson, D-Scappoose, argued for grants instead of loans. House Speaker Tina Kotek, a Democrat, cautioned that the money should be contingent on some level of due diligence like an examination of a hospital’s books.

The board voted on bipartisan grounds to table the motion and rework it for a vote in the coming days.

Meanwhile, Lake District Hospital in the remote southern Oregon town of Lakeview is eager to restart normal operations. Its 24-bed facility has been hit hard by the ban on elective surgeries and other medical procedures.

The governor’s ban effectively ended 60% of the operations, said Charlie Tveit, the hospital’s administrator. It lost about $3.5 million in expected revenue in March and April. To put that in perspective, the hospital’s total operating revenue in 2018 was $28.1 million.

Lake District Hospital did not treat a single COVID-19 patient, Tveit said.

In response to dwindling revenue, the hospital reduced expenses by cutting some employees’ hours.

-- Jim Ryan; jryan@oregonian.com; 503-221-8005; @Jimryan015

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