St. Lawrence Health (SLH) is excited to announce that effective today, Monday, May 15, 2023, its Masking Mandate Policy has been lifted in most areas of its hospitals and clinics.
The United States Department of Health and Human Services allowed the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency to expire last week on May 11.
“This moment marked a major milestone in the pandemic and provided us with the opportunity to review our current practices based on the reduced presence of COVID-19 in our communities,” stated SLH President Donna McGregor.
Masking throughout Canton-Potsdam, Gouverneur, and Massena hospitals and their off-site medical offices are now optional for most patients, staff, visitors, and volunteers.
As was the practice before the COVID-19 pandemic, masking may continue in certain high-risk areas, including areas serving immunocompromised patients. Those areas will have signage explaining that masking remains mandatory. In the same fashion, visitors are encouraged to refrain from visiting inpatients if they are feeling unwell.
“Through the endless efforts of SLH’s clinical and non-clinical personnel, patients, visitors, and our community members, we have come through to the other side of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Ms. McGregor said.
“The last three years have affected every single person. As we move ahead with the removal of masks, it is a concrete sign that we are moving towards ‘back to normal.’ It has been a long-awaited transition for our staff to be able to fully see the smiling or troubled faces of their patients, and for our patients to be able to see us mask-free,” she added.
