Cayuga Health Capital Transition Project On Track to Meet Expanding Needs
Cayuga Health Capital Transition Project On Track to Meet Expanding Needs
Cayuga Health announced today that they meet Governor Cuomo’s requirements to begin performing outpatient elective surgeries. Cayuga Medical Center will resume the week of May 4, 2020 and Schuyler Hospital on May 12th. The NYS requirements consist of fewer than 10 new hospitalizations of coronavirus patients in the county over the past 10 days. Patients also must test negative for COVID-19 before undergoing a surgical procedure.
“For the past seven weeks, COVID-19 has impacted our operation throughout Cayuga Health System. Per the Governor’s announcement last week, our team is preparing, and getting ready. Safety is our first priority on meeting the needs of our elective surgery patients,” states Dr. Martin Stallone, President and CEO of Cayuga Health. “We are ready and able to resume elective surgery with an adequate supply of PPE, all infection control measures will be followed, and safety monitoring is already in place to make sure our patients are safe. Our team in surgical services has been working hard over the past several weeks to prepare for the reopening of outpatient elective surgeries and we are ready to resume.”
“We want to thank our providers and employees for their dedication and support during this very challenging period,” adds Stallone. “Throughout this public health emergency, I am very proud of the response, dedication, and flexibility of our entire team. Together, we have been able to meet
the many challenges presented by COVID-19 head on and we will continue to make sure our patients feel safe under our care.”
Testing for COVID-19 is available at the Cayuga Health Sampling Site located at The Shops at Ithaca Mall parking lot, 40 Catherwood Rd., between the hours of 10 am-3 pm Monday through Friday. A website with on-line registration is available at www.cayugahealth.org for patients to review the screening criteria and pre-register before their arrival, allowing greater efficiencies with patient volume and decreased wait times.
In addition, a call center has been set up for patients who may not have access to Internet, need assistance registering, or have questions. The call center number is 607-319-5708. Individuals are strongly encouraged to pre-register prior to coming to the site.
The Sampling Center is located in portable structures at The Shops at Ithaca Mall parking lot and is staffed by experienced and knowledgeable Cayuga Health employees.
The Schuyler Hospital Auxiliary is offering scholarships to students who plan to enter the health care field.
Mobile Testing Unit Went to Seneca View in Schuyler County Today
April 20, 2020 Montour Falls, New York –– Earlier today Cayuga Health deployed their mobile testing unit to test the residents of Schuyler Hospital’s Seneca View Skilled Nursing Facility for COVID-19. Cayuga Health is taking a proactive approach to testing at-risk individuals and those that are most vulnerable to complications from the disease. On Friday, April 17th the Cayuga Health mobile testing team also responded within 45 minutes to a request for COVID-19 testing of residents and staff at Bridges Cornell Heights, an assisted living residence for seniors in Ithaca, NY.
“Seneca View is operated by Cayuga Health and is physically connected to our hospital in Schuyler County,” states Rebecca Gould, President of Schuyler Hospital. “Having this health care connection provides our residents, and the staff of Seneca View, with an extra level of convenient care. The intent of this screening is to ensure that we do not have any residents who may have tested positive for COVID-19. Currently, we do not have any staff or residents who have tested positive.”
Previous guidelines hindered essential caregivers who did not show symptoms from getting tested because they would have to be in mandatory isolation while they waited for test results. The staff of Seneca View will also be tested later this week.
“Our mobile testing approach can get results quickly for individuals that are unable to physically come to our sampling center,” states Dr. Martin Stallone, CEO, Cayuga Health. “New guidelines now allow asymptomatic essential caregivers to return to work while awaiting their results. This allows for the staff and residents at both Seneca View and Bridges Cornell Heights, to get tested without concerns over staffing.”
“Knowledge is power in any crisis, certainly this is true in a pandemic,” states Elizabeth Classen, Founder of Bridges Cornell Heights in a press release issued on Friday afternoon. “ I have to hand it to Dr. Stallone and the Cayuga Medical experts for their responsiveness. Although we have zero residents infected with the virus, the science tells us that any individual can be a silent carrier.”
Cayuga Health also offers a COVID-19 drive through Sampling Center at The Shops at Ithaca Mall parking lot, which is open from 10:00 am – 3:00 pm Monday- Friday. Testing is offered with no out of pocket expense to residents and CDC guidelines are followed in regard to patient symptoms and/or exposure. Sampling Center on-line registration is available at www.cayugahealth.org for patients to review the screening criteria and pre-register before their arrival, allowing greater efficiencies with patient volume and decreased wait times.
A call center has been set up for patients who may not have access to Internet, need assistance registering, or have questions. The call center number is 607-319-5708. Individuals are strongly encouraged to pre-register prior to coming to the site.
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About Cayuga Health
Cayuga Health (CH) has two hospitals, Cayuga Medical Center and Schuyler Hospital, as well as a multi-specialty group, Cayuga Medical Associates. Combined employment, including affiliated organizations, is over 2,200 employees. CHS is clinically linked to Mayo Medical Laboratories, Rochester Regional Health for cardiac services, Roswell Park for cancer services, and the University of Rochester for neurosciences.
To our Residents and Family Members: COVID-19 Prevention Efforts Update – April 10, 2020
We are pleased to inform you that our enhanced infection prevention measures remain in place and our facility is a COVID-19 Free location – in both our resident and staff populations.
Starting Saturday, April 11, 2020, the Montour Falls Walk-in Clinic will be temporarily closing on Saturdays. The Walk-In Clinic remains open Monday – Friday 8: a.m.-4:30 p.m. If you believe you have a serious illness or injury which cannot wait, please call 911 or visit the Schuyler Hospital Emergency Department.
Volunteers and Equipment Needed for Second Cayuga Health Production Site
Schuyler Hospital is setting up a procedural mask production site in Montour Falls, and volunteers are needed.
Beginning Monday, April 6, 2020, Schuyler Hospital will be adjusting hours at the Montour Falls Walk-In Clinic until further notice due to the COVID-19 crisis. New hours will be Monday-Friday 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m.- 12 p.m.
We apologize for any inconvenience.
With questions, please call (607) 535-7154 or email info@schuylerhospital.org.
April 2, 2020
To our Residents and Family Members:
COVID-19 Containment Efforts Update
Thank you all for your patience and assistance with our adoption of the stringent COVID-19 enhanced precautions at Seneca View. As you likely already know, these are required by the Centers for Disease Control, and the NY State Department of Health, and serve to protect our residents and staff.
Our region of the state continues to see a rise in COVID-19 cases, as expected. Seneca View has had no cases of the virus amongst our residents or staff to date, and none currently suspected. If that were to change you will be notified, and advised of the additional steps we will be taking.
Schuyler Hospital and our affiliate Cayuga Medical Center have implemented a plan that directs the majority of COVID-19 testing, and any required treatment, to the Cayuga Medical Center campus in Ithaca. This channels care needs to where they can best be addressed and ensures that we limit any potential introduction of the virus to our campus. This is an extra level of protection for our Seneca View community.
In addition to the various steps in place as reported in our prior communications, we wanted to let you know that we continue to innovate and respond to the challenges imposed under the global protective measures. Our activities department continues to enhance in-room activities and has been creative in maintaining family connections with window visits, Facetime and Skype video conference calls, and telephone assistance.
All of our staff have masks in place while in the presence of our residents and we believe we have adequate formal supply levels at this time. “Social Distancing” is in place and routine staff meetings are now being held via conference calls, as are the resident care conferences, etc. These efforts add an extra layer of prevention.
We have also added increased infection prevention measures in the form of a UV Light Sanitizer Station for hand held object (phones, keys, name tags, etc). Local distilleries are providing us great volumes of FDA Approved hand sanitizer, and local sewing teams are donating hundreds and hundreds of approved face masks to us week after week. Our community continues to prove how wonderful it is.
Our update wouldn’t be complete if we didn’t take the time to recognize the massive team effort underway here to keep our residents happy, safe, and comfortable. We have seen great compassion and hard work amongst our team as we adjust to the volumes of new requirements. They have done a great job and we continue to recognize their dedication. We are all proud to be part of this community.
Please continue to monitor our SCHUYLERHOSPITAL.ORG website, and the Seneca View page, for updates. We very much look forward to bringing families back together. Until then, if you have any questions please feel free to contact our nursing units, our Director of Nursing, or me, at 607-535-8611.
My Best Regards,
Patrick Ryan Administrator
Effective Friday March 20, 2020, at 5 p.m., all non-essential surgeries have been postponed by 60 days due to COVID-19. Cayuga Medical Center will continue to provide availability for emergent/urgent surgeries.