Catholic Health announced Tuesday that it will be closing the emergency department at Sisters Hospital, St. Joseph Campus, on Harlem Road in Cheektowaga beginning at 7 a.m. Thursday, in response to a rapidly-growing Covid-19 patient census.
Local emergency medical services providers have been notified of the change, hospital officials said.
Emergency services at Sisters Hospital’s Main Street campus in Buffalo are not affected by the closure in Cheektowaga.
Those with medical emergencies are advised to call 911 or to go to the nearest open emergency department.
Catholic Health officials said all Covid-19 patients at their hospitals are being cared for using a hybrid model that allows each facility to safely maintain the health of the community while providing the highest quality care to its Covid-19 patients.
People are also reading…
According to Marty Boryszak, senior vice president of Acute Care Service for Catholic Health, a great deal of knowledge has been gained from treating Covid-19 patients at the St. Joseph Campus that has been used to create a hybrid model to care for Covid-19 patients throughout the Catholic Health system.
“Although St. Joseph Campus will continue to care for more than half of the Covid patients in Catholic Health, we are increasing bed capacity at all our hospitals to manage this growing surge," Boryszak said in a statement Tuesday.
Catholic Health will continue to allow outpatient and elective procedures at its facilities, though the system is closely monitoring bed capacity and surges in positive Covid-19 cases across the region in order to respond to changes as necessary.
Boryszak requested that all Western New Yorkers step up and help protect the greater community by wearing masks, washing their hands, practicing social distancing and limiting gatherings.
