Dignity Health Central Coast prepares to reopen ambulatory and outpatient services

SANTA MARIA, Calif. - Dignity Health Central Coast is preparing to safely re-open ambulatory and outpatient services next week.

These services include ambulatory and outpatient diagnostic services, breast imaging, CT, MRI, radiology, and Lab locations.

"In order to create capacity in our hospitals it was very important for us to try to postpone some surgeries that could be safely delayed," said Dr. Scott Robertson with Dignity Health Central Central Coast.

This allowed hospitals to have more beds available in case of a pandemic surge.

Robertson says hospitals are now preparing to safely re-open several outpatient diagnostic services. "We have reached a point where we feel we can safely re-open some of our outpatient services such as diagnostic imaging, re-open some of our laboratory draw stations, as well as start to reschedule medically necessary but time sensitive elective surgery cases."

Another high demand service returning is breast imaging.

"It's so important that we've had to put these women on hold for their screening mammogram. But we'd like for them to start coming in and making their appointments because as you know one in eight women will have breast cancer," said Katherine Guthrie with Dignity Health Central Coast.

Existing limitations on visitation and universal masking for staff and patient will remain in place.

"We want to let the community to know that it's safe to come into our hospitals. It's safe to come into outpatient service centers or outpatient diagnostic centers because we've all put certain types of processes in place to ensure patients' safety," said Robertson.

Healthcare staff believe that safely resuming these services will help our communities heal.

Dignity Health Central Coast hospitals will re-open its outpatient diagnostic services on May 4.