Lincoln Hospital resumes surgeries

DAVENPORT - About a month after asking some employees to accept volunteer standby unemployment due to reduced income during the COVID-19 pandemic, Lincoln Hospital has recalled all its employees back to work. No mandatory layoffs or furloughs took place at the hospital.

The move comes near the same time the hospital reopened its surgery practice and Gov. Jay Inslee announced reduced restrictions on health care facilities. Hospitals had been barred from performing non-urgent surgeries if no harm would come to patients asked to wait for 90 days. Hospitals have also received funding from the CARES act.

"We have patients who have been waiting for their surgeries with pain and discomfort," said Jennifer Larmer, Chief Clinical Officer for Lincoln Hospital and Clinics. "We're happy to be providing this care for our patients again with safety precautions in place for our staff and patients."

Last month, the Hospital said in a press release that a reduction in patients-due to restrictions and to people's worries that that could encounter COVID-19 patients- led the hospital to financial hardship.

Hospital leadership is hopeful things will return to normal.

Twenty-five employees accepted standby unemployment.

"We did everything we could to keep these employees whole during that time and worked hard to ensure we could bring them back as quickly as possible," said Tyson Lacy, CEO for Lincoln Hospital and Clinics. "I'm thankful we didn't have to move into any mandatory furloughs."