Health Industry

Latest California Healthline Stories

The Nation’s 5,000 Outpatient Surgery Centers Could Help With The COVID-19 Overflow

A coalition of anesthesiologists wants to repurpose the country’s more than 5,000 surgery centers to serve as emergency overflow amid the coronavirus pandemic. The centers have trained medical staff largely sitting idle, anesthesia machines that could be turned into ventilators, and empty medical space. But obstacles such as federal payment rules, logistics and some skepticism are getting in the way.