WMCHealth announces that elective outpatient ambulatory surgeries and medical tests will resume this week at its hospitals in Orange County, under an Executive Order from Governor Andrew Cuomo. St. Anthony Community Hospital (SACH) in Warwick and Bon Secours Community Hospital in Port Jervis will each resume outpatient surgery services.
Governor Cuomo’s Executive Order allows for resumption of elective outpatient ambulatory surgical services – those for which the patient enters and leaves a surgical facility on the same day, without an overnight stay – based on the status of coronavirus impact, including a drop in COVID-19 cases in specific counties.
Individuals who were able to defer an elective outpatient procedure or test during the early phase of the pandemic will be contacted to reschedule pre-procedure testing as well as their surgery. While each patient previously scheduled for an outpatient procedure will be called to reschedule, individuals can feel free to initiate re-scheduling by contacting their surgeon’s office. Affiliated physicians are welcome to call surgery practices to discuss a patient who will be rescheduled for a procedure, or to make a new referral.
As a mandatory safety protocol, the hospitals will provide each patient with a COVID-19 test prior to a procedure. Each patient must then follow stringent safety precautions to avoid possible infection before the procedure date itself. Any patient who tests positive for a COVID infection will be re-tested before elective surgery can be rescheduled. Emergency and urgent surgeries have continued without deferral throughout the pandemic, regardless of a patient’s infection status.
In addition, office hours are expanding at the Bon Secours Medical Group offices in Orange County. New York State is allowing for resumption of medical practice visits based on the status of coronavirus impact, including a drop in COVID-19 cases, in specific counties. For more information visit https://www.bonsecoursmg.com/.
