If you have a Roswell Park appointment coming up in the near future, you may wonder whether you should postpone it because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Here’s what you need to know:
- We have taken strict measures to reduce the risk of COVID-19 in our hospital and patient areas. These measures include:
- A drastic reduction in the number of staff working on campus. Most employees now work from home.
- Revised policies that prohibit any visitors on inpatient floors and only one visitor per patient in outpatient areas.
- A single entrance for patients and visitors.
- Health screening for all people who come into the hospital, every day, including patients, visitors, staff and vendors.
- Installation of hands-free door openers in most areas.
- Cancellation of all public events for the foreseeable future.
Remember that Roswell Park is a dedicated, free-standing cancer hospital. We treat cancer patients only and do not have an emergency room where patients with flu-like symptoms might seek treatment.
- If your Roswell Park team thinks that your appointment, procedure or surgery can or should be rescheduled, they will contact you directly. However, right now we are rescheduling only non-urgent or routine appointments that can be postponed safely in the opinion of your treating physician.
- Some patients may have the option of virtual visits — if you have an upcoming appointment that your care team feels should be offered as a virtual visit, they will be contacting you directly. To take advantage of seeing your doctor in a virtual visit, we will need your email address. If you are already registered on MyRoswell – Roswell Park’s patient portal, we will use the same email you used to register; you can always change your email by visiting MyRoswell and changing it in your account. If you prefer not to register at this time, your care team will still need your email when scheduling your virtual visit.
- Missing certain appointments can impact the effectiveness of your treatment. For example, studies show that when cancer patients miss radiation treatments, they face an increased risk that their cancer will return, even if they go on to finish the full course of treatments.
Many aspects of our normal lives have been put on hold for the time being, but your Roswell Park team is still here to ensure that you can continue to receive the very best cancer care.