patient in wheelchair with visitor

Patients and Visitors

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Great care begins with our outstanding staff. Everyone involved in your care is here to serve your needs. Your involvement -- asking questions, keeping track of your medications, and learning about patient and visitor safety - is a partnership we value highly.

Visitation Guidelines – Effective Monday, March 7, 2022

 Visitor and Support Persons Guidance

All Visitors and Support Persons, regardless of their COVID-19 vaccination status, will be required to complete a health screening (questions and temperature check), wear a face mask at all times, clean their hands with soap/water/hand sanitizer before entering and after leaving a patient room, and practice social distancing throughout the visitation. 

Visitor: an individual, 12 years of age or older that is able to visit with a patient within the SLH defined visitation hours.

Support Person: an individual, 18 years of age or older and are essential to patient care. They include:

  • A parent or guardian of a pediatric patient
  • A Support Person to a laboring patient
  • A person who is medically necessary for the care of a patient including patients with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (I/DD)
  • Patients with cognitive impairments including dementia or in imminent end-of-life situations for a patient who is actively dying and death is anticipated within less than 24 hours.

 

Visitors

To help protect the safety of staff, patients and Visitors, the following COVID-19 guidelines will remain in place:

  • Patients may designate Visitors in accordance with the below guidelines:
    • Emergency Department:  One (1) Visitor for adult patients and two (2) Visitors for pediatric patients may be present on-site at a time in the emergency room.  
    • Ambulatory Surgery Units (ASU): One (1) Visitor may be present on-site at a time.
    • Medical Surgery Units (MSU):  Two (2) Visitors may be present on-site at a time.
    • Pediatric Inpatients:  Two (2) Visitors may be present on-site at a time
       
  • Visiting hours for all SLH hospital inpatient units are*:
    • Canton-Potsdam Hospital: 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. - 8 p.m.
    • Gouverneur Hospital: 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. - 8 p.m.
    • Massena Hospital: 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. - 8 p.m.
       
  • Visitors must be 12 years of age or older. 
  • *No Visitors will be permitted in the rooms of patients on Enhanced Isolation Precautions (for COVID-19)

Support Persons

  • The following groups may designate a Support Person(s) who is not restricted by visitation hours.  
    • Pediatric patients: Two (2) Support Person(s) or Visitors may be present on-site at a time in the emergency room or during hospitalization.  
    • Labor & Delivery: Support persons will be permitted in accordance with New York State Law.  In labor and delivery triage, prior  to admission, one (1) Support Person is allowed.  Patients may have two (2) designated adult support people present upon admission, throughout labor, delivery, and postpartum.  
    • Patients with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (I/DD), and cognitive impairments including dementia: One (1) Support Person may be present on-site at a time in the emergency room or during hospitalization.  
    • End-of-Life Situations: the patient and/or family/care giver may designate two (2) Visitors at a time at the bedside as long as social distancing is maintained.  
  • Patients undergoing same-day procedures may be accompanied to the facility by a companion for pre-procedure (surgery) and post-procedure (surgery). Pediatric patients undergoing procedures may have up to two (2) Support Persons.

Outpatient Location Support Person Guidelines:

  • One (1) Support Person is permitted to be with a patient during an outpatient visit
  • Both the patient and the Support Person are screened for symptoms of COVID-19

Hospital visitation duration and number of Visitors will be limited at the hospital’s discretion based on circumstances. A hospital may suspend visitation at any time when warranted. Recommended hours of visitation will ultimately be determined by the hospital.

 

RELOCATION NOTICE:
CPH Medical Records Office has Moved...

...from within the Hospital to 10 Racquette Road, Potsdam. The new office may also be accessed by going through the SeaComm Plaza at 145 Market Street. Medical Records may be reached at 315.261.5274. 

Browse our most common services listed below or use one of the links to the right.

Cafeteria/Food Service

If your loved one is hospitalized, he/she will be provided with meals or snacks appropriate to his/her healing plan; always ask your loved one's nurse about bringing food items from home or a restaurant.

Canton-Potsdam Hospital
The Hospital Café is located on street-level

Gouverneur Hospital
The Hospital Café is located on the lower-level

Massena Hospital
The Hospital Cafeteria is located on the 2nd floor
 

Medical Records

If you have an established Patient Portal, you can review your records for Canton-Potsdam, Gouverneur, and Massena hospitals at any time.

If you do not have a Patient Portal and need your medical records, please call the appropriate hospital's Medical Records office:
Canton-Potsdam Hospital: (315) 261-5274
Gouverneur Hospital: (315) 261-5709
Massena Hospital: (315) 769-4386

Needle/Sharps Disposal

We offer a service for safe disposal of used needles and sharps. Use a specially-designed sharps container available from most pharmacies, or place your used sharps in an empty detergent or bleach bottle, seal the bottle, and label it clearly as "used sharps."

Please do not leave sharps bottles unattended at any time.

Canton-Potsdam Hospital
Bring containers to 50 Leroy Street and notify the switchboard staff that you have used sharps for disposal. 

Gouverneur Hospital
Bring containers to 77 West Barney Street and notify the laboratory staff that you have used sharps for disposal. 

Massena Hospital
Bring containers to 1 Hospital Drive and notify the laboratory staff that you have used sharps for disposal. 

Parking

Our employees make every effort to leave the closest parking spaces open for patients and visitors, and spaces for people with disabilities are clearly marked. Designated space for emergency visits and for clergy is available adjacent to the emergency room of the main campus.

Patient Consent Forms

The Official OCA 960 (Office of Court Administration) Authorization for Release form is an authorization for release of Health Information pursuant to the HIPAA Privacy Rule.
OCA 960 Form

Patient Relations

Compliments and words of thanks are welcome and are relayed to staff members and supervisors. We love to hear the good, and we need to hear the not-so-good.

If something about your care is of concern to you, allow our Patient Advocacy Manager to address your concern first. We are committed to continuous improvement and your feedback assists us in serving you better. If you have a concern about your care or your visit to us, please contact:

Patient Advocacy Manager: (315) 261-6005

Tobacco Use

ALL OUR CAMPUSES ARE PROUDLY SMOKE-FREE.

New York State law prohibits smoking on or within 15 feet of the property line of a medical facility, or on or within 100 feet of a school or educational facility.

If you use tobacco products and are admitted as an inpatient, please speak to your nurse. Help with quitting smoking is available from all of our primary care providers and Pulmonology specialists.

Because some of our Potsdam facilities are adjacent to property designated as educational, smoking is not permitted on the sidewalks, parking lots, or across the street from our Potsdam campus.