St. David’s Emergency Center locations in Bee Cave and Cedar Park temporarily closed April 1, with resources being reallocated to other care centers.
Both freestanding emergency centers have experienced a decrease in patient volume following the shelter-in-place orders issued by Travis and Williamson counties, according to Ken Mitchell, St. David’s svenior vice president.
The city of Bee Cave took to its social media accounts to announce the closure, stating that resources, including doctors and nurses, will be reallocated to hospitals better equipped to handle COVID-19 patients.
Due to a pause of elective surgical procedures during the coronavirus pandemic St. David's HealthCare has also temporarily consolidated services provided by St. David's Surgical Hospital to St. David's North Austin Medical Center.
“The decision to postpone elective surgeries in accordance with [Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services] recommendations has caused a significant decrease in patient volume at St. David’s Surgical Hospital,” Mitchell said in an emailed statement to Community Impact Newspaper.
Following the reduced demand of these services St. David’s made the decision to redeploy resources associated with each facility.
Services provided by the Bee Cave location will be consolidated to the South Austin Medical Center, and services provided by the Cedar Park location will be consolidated to the Round Rock Medical Center.
“There are a number of projection models indicating that, within a certain period of time, we will see surges in patient volume due to COVID-19,” Mitchell said. “As we prepare for various scenarios, we are consolidating services to our hospitals and other care sites where they are needed most.”
Mitchell added that St. David’s will continue to monitor the demand at these closed facilities and potential community need related to COVID-19 in order to determine when to return to full operations.
