Gov. Inslee’s emergency proclamation restricting non-urgent medical procedures went into effect on Monday, Jan. 17, 2022, and will continue through Feb. 17, 2022, unless rescinded sooner.
The governor’s stated intention in issuing this proclamation is to encourage hospitals to reassign staff from non-urgent to urgent, emergent or acute care, and to ensure there is adequate space available in hospitals during the wave of Omicron cases.
The proclamation applies to hospitals and prohibits them from providing “non-urgent health care services, procedures and surgeries.” It also prohibits hospitals from “utilizing personal protective equipment (PPE) other than according to a conventional capacity strategy.” Please see the Centers for Disease Control Conventional Capacity Strategies for guidance.
If hospitals are unable to secure their own PPE for operating at this capacity, Gov. Inslee has indicated that hospitals can access it from the state. The process requires making a request through your county emergency management agency. Please see Department of Health Personal Protective Equipment Backstop for more information. If you need assistance from WSHA on PPE, please contact Ed Phippen at edp@wsha.org.
If you have general questions or concerns, please contact Taya Briley at tayab@wsha.org or Darcy Jaffe at darcyj@wsha.org.
