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To help address the needs of communities in southwest Nassau County and southeast Queens hard-hit by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), Northwell Health today announced the opening of a temporary outpatient care facility to serve ambulatory, low-acuity, urgent care and recovering patients in the region. In anticipation of the impact COVID-19 may have locally, the community organized to raise donations and outfit this facility to provide care in the event it was needed, inviting Northwell to participate.
The facility, located on the grounds of the Sh’or Yoshuv Rabbinical College in Lawrence (which is temporarily closed), will serve as an assessment center for those in need of low-acuity and urgent care, and as a bridge to home for recovering patients. In cooperation with the community, the site will be staffed by Northwell Health physicians and clinical volunteers recruited by Hatzolah Air, a nonprofit emergency response service. The site will be managed by Northwell.
“We are pleased to have been invited to partner with the community to fulfill the medical needs of the region as the nature and scale of the COVID-19 pandemic evolves,” said Michael Goldberg, executive director of Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park. “This temporary clinical facility, run in concert with Hatzolah Air, is a unique way to provide routine care to local residents, avoiding the need for hospital emergency care.”
Just as visitation is restricted at area hospitals to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19, patients to the Lawrence site will need to be unaccompanied to ensure the safety of staff and fellow patients. Staff will don personal protective equipment during patient interaction, practice regular hand hygiene, clean equipment and disinfect the site.
“We’re thankful that the worst did not come to pass and that the facility we developed can be used to heal those most impacted by this pandemic,” said Rabbi Boruch Bender, founder and president of Achiezer, a resource center in the Five Towns which worked with community leaders to create and equip the temporary health facility. “We appreciate the ongoing support offered by Northwell Health, their front line clinicians and those clinicians from our community who volunteered to work in the facility.”
The Lawrence facility, located at 1 Cedar Lawn Ave., will be open daily from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. For more information or to make an appointment, call (718) 316-6868.
For the latest health information and COVID-19 updates, visit: www.northwell.edu/coronavirus-covid-19.
