UTICA, N.Y. — The Mohawk Valley Health System (MVHS) has closed its respiratory-triage trailer at the St. Luke’s campus amid a drop in COVID-19 cases and moved the service into the St. Luke’s emergency department (ED).
MVHS has updated the St. Luke’s ED to provide this service. The St. Luke’s campus is located at 1656 Champlin Ave. in Utica.
Patients with respiratory symptoms (cough, shortness of breath, congestion, etc.) should now go directly to the ED at the St. Luke’s campus for an evaluation.
The respiratory-triage service in the ED is “not solely for coronavirus/COVID-19 testing and the appointment will be considered an ED visit,” MVHS said. Patients needing emergency services not related to respiratory issues should continue to use the main ED entrances.
“As the rate of COVID infections continue to decrease in our community, we’ve seen a significant decrease in the number of patients coming to our respiratory trailer,” Dr. Afsar Khan, ED medical director at MVHS, said in a release. “We made the decision to alter the layout of the ED at St. Luke’s so that patients seeking this service can come right to the ED and receive an evaluation there. This change helps better align our resources while still meeting the need for the service. We will continue to evaluate the numbers and have the ability to reopen the trailer should the need arise.”
MVHS last April opened two respiratory triage tents outside its emergency departments at the St. Luke’s and St. Elizabeth campuses for patients with respiratory symptoms. As COVID numbers decreased, the tent at the St. Elizabeth campus closed and the services in the St. Luke’s tent were transferred into a trailer to “better withstand the changing weather.”