Novel Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19)

For the safety of our staff, patients and visitors, we continue to require that everyone mask up at Roswell Park.

Roswell Park is working proactively to protect the health and safety of everyone at Roswell Park — patients, visitors, employees, volunteers, students and contractors. We are working closely with the CDC, the Erie County Department of Health and the New York State Department of Health to adapt as the situation evolves with best practices for infection control and guidance from public health officials.

Visit our vaccine page vaccine page for more information and guidelines

Here’s what you need to know about the steps we have taken to keep Roswell Park a safe place to receive or continue your cancer care.

• We have taken strict measures to reduce the risk of COVID-19 in our hospital and patient areas. These measures include:
  • Offering virtual visits when possible to further reduce the number of people in the Center.
  • Updated visitor policy. Please read the full visitation policy prior to each visit.
  • Effective Monday, November 14, hospital visiting hours are expanded to 11 a.m. – 8 p.m. every day. Also, hospitalized patients’ four designated visitors may visit on the same day as long as only two visit at the same time and only during visiting hours. 
  • Symptom screening upon entry - you will see signs asking you to self-screen for possible symptoms of COVID-19 or exposures to COVID-19.  If you have any of the listed symptoms,  please stop at the Information Desk for further instruction.
  • Installation of hands-free door openers in most areas.

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.