The hospital has withdrawn its request to change the hours of the emergency room in Cornwall.
Robert Ross, the president and CEO of St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital, said that the decision followed a series of productive meetings in Albany with the state Department of Health, Sen. Bill Larkin, and Assemblymen Frank Skartados and James Skoufis.
Last fall, the hospital had applied to the state Department of Health for permission to close the Cornwall Emergency Room from 10 p.m. to 10 a.m. The request prompted a September rally on the hospital’s Cornwall campus.
Assemblyman Skoufis, who organized the event in September, was elated by the hospital’s change of direction in March. “After months of community dedication and involvement,” he wrote in a press release, “I am very pleased to share that we have saved the Cornwall ER.”
The Assemblyman’s release coincided with a lengthy message from Mr. Ross on behalf of the hospital. “We are taking a pause in the reduction of the Cornwall ER hours…,” he wrote, “and seeking a partner or partners to continue to deliver high quality patient care…. We cannot do this alone, we need the support of the community.”
