The emergency room in Cornwall may be closing at night. The hospital has applied to the Board of Health for permission to keep the emergency room closed from 10 at night until 10 in the morning. EMS personnel would be at the hospital from 9 to 11 p.m. to transport patients to the Newburgh campus.
In a letter to the Board of Health, hospital president Robert Ross cites a reduction in patient visits to the Cornwall emergency room at night. The staff has seen 600 people in a year-and-a-half, which translates to about one patient per night.
County Legislator Kevin Hines has written to the hospital president to protest the move. Town Supervisor Kevin Quigley plans to address his comments to the Board of Health officials who will be reviewing the request. For details and interviews, see the Sept. 13 issue of the Cornwall Local.
