What beginning elective surgeries again in Arizona means for the community

PHOENIX - Elective surgeries will be able to resume in Arizona on May 1st and the former Arizona Department of Health Services Director, Will Humble, it could have started even sooner.

He said putting this these procedures on hold actually did more harm than good for Arizonans because some of them are life-altering. 

There's a host of medical issues that have been building up and people have not been able to get necessary treatment.

"If you remember a month ago, the supply chain for [personal protective equipment] (PPE) was extremely low and that's still the case in some places. Not enough to go around," Humble said.

But now, things have changed, saying data shows that the executive order has been working to not overwhelm state health resources.

"As we know, the stay at home order has been working really well and we're in no danger of exceeding our hospital capacity in Arizona," he said, adding, "There are some exceptions in the Navajo community."

While hospitals decide if they can perform elective procedures the state has requirements.

"In the executive order when hospitals plan these procedures, they ensure that they're not using valuable PPE that's in short supply. That's why the executive order requires that they demonstrates that they have 2 weeks worth of supply on hand so that they don't use it for elective procedures ..."

The new executive order goes into effect on May 1st. Humble says for those of you who had wait to get a procedure done to call your doctor to schedule it.