Butler Health System has set Monday as the tentative date to resume elective services.

The Reopening Steering Committee recommended resuming services on a limited basis for elective outpatient visits, admissions, surgeries and procedures, according to Jana Panther, spokeswoman for the regional health system.

The committee, comprised of doctors and staff from a range of specialties, started to meet last week to develop guidelines and offer recommendations regarding reopening elective services for the system. Panther said the committee followed guidelines from professional organizations and the state Department of Health.

“The committee has established specific criteria pertaining to COVID-19 testing, personal protective equipment availability, patient risk stratification and acute care capacity,” Panther said. “The committee will monitor activity on an ongoing basis. It is prepared to further expand services — or dial them back — based on COVID-19 activity over the next few weeks.”

Committee co-chairman Dr. John Love specializes in infectious diseases.

“This is our effort to try to get some patients in safely and get through a bit of a backlog of care that our patients are in need of,” Love said. “Our goal, as always, is the safety of our patients and our staff.”

Love said the committee chose next week as a sort of soft opening. He said he understands there will not be a huge rush of patients.

From an administrative standpoint, the hospital also is taking things slow.

“I think some patients are understandably not going to want to be the first ones that walk through the door,” he said. “We're starting at about 50 percent of our usual capacity.”

Love said as people come in for elective services, many will have to go through preparatory procedures and paperwork. Some may have to fill out forms they previously completed.

BHS does not have the capacity to test every person admitted for an elective procedure, but it doesn't have to, according to Love.

He said the state's guidance was based on multiple reports from national health organizations. Some requested the testing of every elective patient, while most requested solely that testing be available, if needed.

Love said BHS plans to test patients who undergo a procedure that would present a heightened risk to surgeons and staff, especially procedures involving the upper and lower respiratory systems. He said the fear would be aerosol dispersal of the virus while the staff performs the procedure.

“We're targeting the patients who are undergoing those types of procedures,” Love said. “The patients are still being managed with high levels of protective equipment. We're doing everything we can to keep our staff safe.”

While some procedures will resume, Love warned that not all elective procedures will be available. He said the goal is limiting extensive hospital stays and restricting procedures that would present too much risk to the patient.

But there are patients who need elective procedures.

Some people with chronic pain, vision problems or who need cancer screenings would benefit from elective procedures sooner rather than later.

“Every patient would have a different reason for why we need to get back to this,” Love said. “These are the backbone of the health community.”

Love said the committee will meet in mid-May to discuss the first few weeks of reopened procedures and will decide whether to expand or reduce its capabilities based on a number of factors, which include staffing and equipment stock.

Love said BHS will need to watch the data and its resources carefully to protect against a potential surge, especially as the state government pursues plans to reopen the state's economy. He said many in the medical community are wary of the reopening, hoping a surge does not result and throw off their steady flow of COVID-19 cases.

“Right now we have a steady flow in the house. It's a manageable number,” Love said. “As long as it is manageable, we can do this.”

Over the past two weeks, Gov. Tom Wolf has developed a color-coded, tiered system in reopening the state, which includes guidance for both businesses and residents.

Wolf will reveal more information Friday about which regions could be reopened with May 8 being the date their status would change.

Every county in Pennsylvania is designated in red, but some may soon move to yellow, which would ease Wolf's restrictions. Wolf has said the northeast and northcentral would likely be some of the first regions to reopen, but will accommodate some counties on a case-by-case basis.

One point of measurement under discussion by state officials — although not the only benchmark being explored — is that an area would have to have fewer than 50 cases per 100,000 residents.

While not the only metric under consideration, state Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine did stress that it would be difficult to see a region reopening without passing that bar. In a news conference Thursday, Levine said the governor's administration is basing its decision on a collection of qualitative data because there are gaps in the understanding this measurement brings.

She said right now, the administration is focused mainly on moving regions and counties from red to yellow. She said they will look at other easements on restrictions later. “Right now we are laser-focused on certain regions for going from red to yellow,” she said. “We have not made specific plans for counties and regions to go green yet.”