Safety Measures
As River Hospital prepares to meet the needs of our community, the public is encouraged to take the necessary precautions to limit the exposure of the virus. COVID-19 is mainly spread person to person, by close proximity – within 6 feet of an infected person – or possibly by touching contaminated objects or surfaces and then touching your face.
Recommendations include:
- Avoiding close contact with people who are ill.
- Wash your hands regularly for 20 seconds with soap and water or alcohol sanitizer if soap and water is not available.
- Avoid touching your face with unwashed hands, cover coughs and sneezes.
- Disinfect surfaces like doorknobs, tables and handrails regularly.
Stay home if you are feeling sick or if you have a sick family member in the home
You can help stop the spread of COVID-19 by knowing the signs and symptoms:
- Fever
- Cough
- Shortness of breath
Seek medical advice if you develop symptoms and have been in close contact with a person known to have COVID-19, or live in or have recently traveled from an area with the ongoing spread of the virus.
Call ahead before you go the doctor’s office or emergency room. Make sure to tell them about your recent travel and your symptoms.
Visitation and Screening Guidelines
River Hospital Campus Inpatient Visitation Protocol
River Hospital will allow one visitor at a time to visit patients on the Acute/Swing Bed unit.
• Visiting hours on weekdays (Monday – Friday) will be held from 1:00pm until 8:00pm.
• Weekend Visiting hours will be extended from 10:00am until 8:00pm.
All visitors must enter the building through the main hospital entrance, and have their temperature checked at the registration desk upon entering the facility. Any visitor with a fever (temperature of 100.0 or greater) will be asked to exit the facility. The registration clerk will call the Acute/Swing Bed Unit to inform nursing staff of the visitor’s arrival.
A log of visitors will be maintained with the Nursing Staff at the Nurses Station. Visitors will be instructed to sign in at the nurse’s station before entering a patient’s room, no exceptions. All visitors will be screened at sign in for symptoms of/exposure to COVID-19. For the safety of staff and patients, if any visitors present with symptoms, or answer “yes” to any of the screening questions provided, the visitor will be asked to exit the facility immediately.
*All visitors are required to wear a mask upon entering the facility.
Visitors must stay in the patient’s room and wear their mask for the entirety of the visit. Visitors may be asked to leave if non-compliant with masking protocol.
*After the visit, all visitors are required to sign out on the visitation log, and directly exit the hospital.
To ensure the safety of our patients, staff and visitors, River Hospital will ensure that:
• All visitors must be 18 years of age or older except in rare exceptions as determined by the hospital.
• Visitors are limited to one person at a time unless at hospital’s discretion a limited number of additional persons are determined to be appropriate at the bedside.
• Exceptions for after hour visitation may be provided at the discretion of the nurse manager on a case by case basis. Exception may include but is not limited to CMO/End of Life Care.
• Once in the facility, visitors must remain in the patient’s room throughout the visit except when directed by hospital staff to leave during aerosol-generating procedures or other procedures during which visitors are usually asked to leave.
• Visitors must wear appropriate personal protective equipment as recommended by the Department of Health, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Visitors who fail to wear a face mask and other PPE will be asked to leave the facility.
Testing
With the increase in COVID cases within our county it is important that we at River Hospital, as well as other facilities, are able to dedicate our staff and resources to care for those that present to our Emergency Department that are ill, seeking urgent and emergent medical care.
Please utilize Emergency Departments for when you are feeling ill or need medical care, allowing Emergency Department staff to provide you and your loved ones with quality, compassionate and emergency care. All patients will be evaluated and treated according to their severity of illness, which may increase the wait, and we ask for your understanding in this.
River Hospital is not a COVID testing site for persons that do not have symptoms, or need testing to return to work or school, or for travel. Please follow the link below to find sites available to provide this type of testing:
https://coronavirus.health.ny.gov/find-test-site-near-you
River Hospital offers Covid testing with a provider order. Our PCR test is sent out with results received in 3-5 days. Please call 315-482-1156 to schedule an appointment.
If you are experiencing non-emergent symptoms and would like to be seen, we encourage you to schedule an appt with convenient care M-F 8a-6p or Saturday from 9am-3pm by calling 315-482-1125.
If you are having symptoms, we ask that you call ahead from your vehicle prior to entering Convenient Care 315-482-1125 or the Emergency Department 315-482-2511. A nurse will put proper precautions in place and instruct you where to enter the facility.
Billing and Insurance
During the COVID-19 pandemic, River Hospital remains sensitive to our community’s needs. We will be offering multiple solutions to assist our patients with balances by offering extended time to pay, hardship contracts and additional Financial Counseling resources during this time. Please feel free to email us at
Additionally, we remind all of our patients of the existing order issued by NYS Governor Cuomo mandating that insurance companies cannot apply any patient cost sharing for telehealth services received during the Public Health Emergency. Please click the link below for more information.
https://www.dfs.ny.gov/consumers/coronavirus/health_insurance_faqs
COVID-19 Vaccine
River Hospital is following guidance from New York State Department of Health and has worked diligently to vaccinate our frontline health care workers and eligible community partners. We are proud to be a part of such an essential process and to be working side by side with our North Country partners toward a common goal.
New York State is determining who gets vaccinated and when, based on a priority rollout approach. Additional New Yorkers will become eligible as the vaccine supply increases. While the vaccination process is underway, every New Yorker should wear a mask, social distance and avoid small and large gatherings.
Information on the Phased Distribution of the Vaccine can be found here.
Please check this webpage regularly for updates on vaccine distribution at local hospitals, pharmacies, and other community locations.
To determine your eligibility and schedule an appointment:
To see if you are currently eligible to get the vaccine and schedule appointments at New York State run vaccination sites, visit https://am-i-eligible.covid19vaccine.health.ny.gov/. You can also call the New York State COVID-19 Vaccination Hotline at 1-833-NYS-4-VAX (1-833-697-4829).
A list of Frequently Asked Questions can be found here.
Now that COVID-19 vaccines are available, it’s understandable that some people may be concerned about getting vaccinated. Rest assured, the vaccine is safe, effective and your best protection from COVID-19 — along with wearing a mask, staying at least 6 feet away from others, avoiding crowds, and washing your hands often.
Visit the Center for Disease Control or New York State Department of Health to learn more about the vaccine.
Other local partners: