WMCHealth resumes outpatient ambulatory surgeries at St. Anthony Community Hospital

WMCHealth has announced that elective outpatient ambulatory surgeries and medical tests will resume this week at its hospitals in Orange County.

St. Anthony Community Hospital in Warwick and Bon Secours Community Hospital in Port Jervis will each resume outpatient surgery services.

Gov. Andrew 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.

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.

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.

In addition, office hours are expanding at our 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.

The practitioners and staff of the Bon Secours Medical Group continue to care for our patients through telehealth, video visits and in person; with certain criteria to ensure our patients’ safety and the safety of staff in Orange, Rockland, Pike and Bergen counties.

Essential information

Any individual with new or concerning symptoms or a change in health status should not wait for care and should call their primary physician’s office or come to an emergency room. The health and well-being of our community, patients and workforce is organization's number one priority.

Visit stanthonycommunityhosp.org or bonsecourscommunityhosp.org for more detail on scheduling elective outpatient ambulatory procedures and tests.

Visit bonsecoursmg.com to contact your doctor’s office to make an appointment.