General Surgery

Scheduling Appointments
Pre-registration
Ways to Receive Care
Visitor Restrictions

While the COVID-19 pandemic is changing the way some things look and feel at CVPH, providing you and your loved ones with the care you need is always our top priority. We are taking extra precautions by adjusting some of the ways we provide care, both in-person and remotely at General Surgery. It is important to know what to expect when you are in our care. Below is a glimpse of the experience you can expect before, during and after your provider visit.

Scheduling Appointments

Talk to your primary care provider about getting a referral or scheduling a procedure.

Pre-registration

To streamline your visit and limit time spent in the waiting room, you may go through pre-registration before the appointment if you haven’t been seen in the last 4 months. That involves a phone call a few days ahead of the visit to verify some basic information about you and your insurance. This is similar to what you used to do in the waiting room before seeing your provider. The entire call will only last a few minutes.

The process is similar for same day appointments. Once the appointment is scheduled, you will be transferred to a representative for pre-registration.

Care That’s Right For You

Whether it’s in person, on the phone or via video, we are offering expanded access to ensure you get the care you need, when you need it. General Surgery offers these options:

• Video Visits (mostly for follow-ups, as deemed necessary by the physician)
• Scheduled In-Person Visits 

In-person Visits

When you arrive for your appointment, you’ll notice more precautions in place to support your health and comfort.

What you can expect:

• Arrival: To ensure a smooth process and avoid significant waiting times, we ask that you arrive a few minutes early for your appointment. You will need to enter through the FitzPatrick Cancer Center. 
• Screening: Once you enter the cancer center, a representative at the checkpoint will ask you a few screening questions to determine if you’ve been exposed to COVID-19 or have any symptoms and get your temperature checked. If you do not have a mask, we are happy to provide one for you and help put it on.
  • If you do not pass the screening: Don’t worry! We are taking every precaution to ensure you receive the care you need and minimize exposure to others. We suggest you call your primary care provider to determine the next steps you should take.
  • If you pass: Come on down to General Surgery for your appointment.
• Exam Room: Once in the room, the nurse will go over basic information as usual, including medications and the reason for the visit. You will be asked to wash your hands before the provider sees you. Your provider will then visit with you.
• Check Out: Once the visit is complete and your provider leaves the room, you can head to the front desk to get checked out and schedule any follow-up visits.
• Billing: Any co-pays or other payments will be collected at the time of service.

What we will be doing:

• Masking: For everyone’s protection, we’re asking you to wear your mask while in our care, and we’ll be wearing masks, too.
• Cleaning & Sanitizing: Following CDC and New York State Department of Health Guidelines, we are cleaning and disinfecting exam rooms, front desk counters, check-out counters, waiting room furniture and patient bathrooms in between each patient visit. You may also notice we are cleaning common areas and wiping down surfaces more frequently throughout the day.
• Social Distancing: We are limiting the use of the waiting room as much as possible. We have also made changes to support safe social distancing of at least 6 feet. That includes fewer chairs and new floor markings to create a “circle of health” to help with appropriate distancing.  

Visitor Restrictions

You may be accustomed to bringing a friend or loved one to your appointments. For the most up-to-date visitation policy at the hospital and our clinics, click here.

If you need a support person or driver to accompany you to the office, we ask that they wait in their vehicle or return at a specific time. We also ask that they be no more than 15 minutes away while you are with us. After your appointment, you can meet up with your support person outside the FitzPatrick Cancer Center.  

If a support person needs to come inside the building with you for the appointment, that individual will also be screened before entering the building and must wear a mask for the duration of the visit.