CHI St. Alexius Health Begins Cancelling Non-Urgent, Elective Surgeries In Response To COVID-19 Pandemic

Williston, ND – Starting March 23, CHI St. Alexius Health Williston is postponing or cancelling non-urgent, elective surgeries and procedures until further notice. CHI St. Alexius Health made this decision in collaboration with other health systems in the state.

“We continue to adjust our approach to prevent exposure of the virus to our patients, providers and visitors. This is one more step.” said Dan Bjerknes, President, CHI St. Alexius Health Williston. “We understand the inconvenience and disruption to our patients, however, we must make the decision that is best for our community to ensure that resources are readily available for our employees and patients requiring possible treatment of COVID-19.”

CHI St. Alexius Health is following the recommendations from the Center for Disease Control and ND Department of Health that were released last week. All other surgery will be evaluated on an urgent or emergent basis. Patients are being contacted if their surgery or procedure is postponed or cancelled.

About CHI St. Alexius Health: CHI St. Alexius Health is a regional health network with a unified mission: nurturing the healing ministry of the Church while creating healthier communities. In 1920 the sisters of mercy came to Williston in hopes of bringing healthcare to the community. 100 years later we are still serving their mission of providing health care through Christ’s healing ministry.

CHI St. Alexius Health is part of CommonSpirit Health, a nonprofit, Catholic health system dedicated to advancing health for all people. It was created in February 2019 through the alignment of Catholic Health Initiatives and Dignity Health. CommonSpirit Health is committed to creating healthier communities, delivering exceptional patient care, and ensuring every person has access to quality health care. With its national office in Chicago and a team of approximately 150,000 employees and 25,000 physicians and advanced practice clinicians, CommonSpirit Health operates 142 hospitals and more than 700 care sites across 21 states. In FY 2018, Catholic Health Initiatives and Dignity Health had combined revenues of $29.2 billion and provided $4.2 billion in charity care, community benefit, and unreimbursed government programs.