On February 25, we re-opened our hospital campus operating rooms that were previously closed.
Over the last several months, we have implemented and completed a number of safety improvements which include:
- Installing a new rooftop air handling system
- Installing in-room HEPA filtration systems in our ORs; this is the highest level of filtration found in ORs today
During the intermittent closures of our operating rooms, we performed some surgeries at partner hospitals including Harborview, Swedish, UW Medical Center and Mary Bridge. We are grateful for their support.
Rescheduling surgeries
We are taking a thoughtful approach to rescheduling surgeries that were postponed due to the closure, including reviewing surgeries on a daily basis to assess urgency and priority. It will take time to reschedule them all; our scheduling team is contacting families now to begin this work.
How should we refer patients with possible surgical needs?
Please follow our normal referral process.
Findings by CMS and DOH
After we self-reported the air quality issues to the DOH, the DOH conducted site visits, reviewed records, and interviewed staff. The DOH closed its investigation on January 8, 2020 concluding that there were no deficiencies. CMS conducted a site visit on December 10, 2019 from which there were no findings. Seattle Children’s fully cooperated with these reviews and we were encouraged that the investigations were closed with no findings.
For more information, read our complete FAQ for providers.
Providers who would like to speak with Seattle Children’s leadership team directly should contact Dr. Jeff Ojemann, Seattle Children’s surgeon-in-chief (206-987-2544 or [email protected]).
If you have an urgent clinical concern, please call the Provider-to-Provider Line at 206-987-7777 and ask to speak to the specific surgical service on call.
