Elizabethtown, NY – On Tuesday, August 25, the University of Vermont Health Network - Elizabethtown Community Hospital suspended visitation to its facilities. The temporary visitor policy change is a preventive measure to protect against the spread of COVID-19.

“The health and safety of our patients, staff, and community is our highest priority,” said Elizabethtown Community Hospital Medical Director of Emergency Medicine and Chief Medical Officer Dr. David Clauss. “We have been working with our neighbors at Essex Center and with the Essex County Health Department to closely monitor the recent outbreak and limit the spread of COVID in our community.”

“Elizabethtown Community Hospital staff are well-trained in infection prevention measures, and we are prepared to care for our community while maintaining a safe environment of care,” said Clauss.

Since March, the hospital has implemented the following safety protocols:

• All employees arriving for work are screened with health questions and a temperature check.
• All arriving patients are screened at the front desk. Patients with symptoms or suspected exposure to a COVID-positive case are masked and treated in dedicated rooms.
• Strictly following Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and New York State Department of Health guidelines on personal protective equipment. All employees are required to wear masks, including the front desk staff that perform patient screening upon arrival.
• Enhanced cleaning protocols, including frequent sanitization of high-touch surfaces.
• Staggering outpatient appointments to limit traffic in the hospital and health centers.

The visitor restriction is an added precaution that will further minimize the risk of potential exposure, said Clauss.

Special considerations for pediatric patients, end of life care patients, and patients with an intellectual, developmental, or cognitive disability are included in the updated visitor policy. The temporary suspension of visitors will be reassessed in the coming weeks to determine when it will be appropriate to return to limited visitation.

For updates and resources on COVID-19, please visit https://www.ech.org/COVID-19-Information-and-Updates.

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About Elizabethtown Community Hospital

The University of Vermont Health Network - Elizabethtown Community Hospital is a designated critical access hospital and the primary health care provider serving the 39,000 people who live, work and vacation in Essex County, NY and the surrounding region.

Elizabethtown Community Hospital is transforming rural health care at its main campus in Elizabethtown, NY, at a new emergency department and outpatient center at the former Moses Ludington Hospital in Ticonderoga, NY, and at six community-based primary health care centers located throughout the region.  The hospital is one of the community’s largest employers with 360 employees.

Across the Elizabethtown and Ticonderoga campuses, the hospital maintains two 24-hour emergency rooms, a 25-bed inpatient unit, physical therapy, laboratory, and digital radiology departments, and a variety of specialty physician clinics on a weekly and monthly basis.  

Elizabethtown Community Hospital is accredited by the Joint Commission and is licensed and certified by the New York State Department of Health and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

About The University of Vermont Health Network
The University of Vermont Health Network is an academic health system that is comprised of six affiliate hospitals, a multi-specialty medical group, and a home health agency. We serve the residents of Vermont and northern New York with a shared mission: working together, we improve people’s lives.  Our partners include:

• The University of Vermont Medical Center  
• The University of Vermont Health Network Medical Group
• The University of Vermont Health Network – Alice Hyde Medical Center
• The University of Vermont Health Network – Central Vermont Medical Center
• The University of Vermont Health Network – Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital
• The University of Vermont Health Network – Elizabethtown Community Hospital
• The University of Vermont Health Network – Porter Medical Center
• The University of Vermont Health Network – Home Health and Hospice

Our 4,000 health care professionals are driven to provide high quality, cost-efficient care as close to home as possible. Strengthened by our academic connection to the University of Vermont, each of our hospitals remains committed to its local community by providing compassionate, personal care shaped by the latest medical advances and delivered by highly skilled experts.