COVID-19 Information

In order to protect the health of all patients and medical staff and to reduce the spread of COVID-19, Stamford Health is making adjustments to elective surgery and other procedures. As of Monday, March 23:

• Endoscopy procedures: All screening colonoscopies have been postponed – we will resume normal screenings in accordance with recommendations by federal, state and local health agencies.
• Cardiac and pulmonary procedures: Some non-urgent or less urgent cardiac and pulmonary procedures have been postponed. Urgent and emergency procedures will continue as needed.
• Elective operations and procedures: Elective operations and procedures meeting certain clinical criteria at both Stamford Hospital and the Stamford Health Tully Health Center will be postponed.
  • We understand that for certain patients, a delay would result in harm, negatively impact quality of life or delay important diagnoses. In these situations, these operations may continue. However, this is subject to change based on federal, state, local guidelines and other hospital-based considerations.
• These new guidelines do NOT apply to emergency surgeries or procedures.
• If you have questions, please contact your surgeon's or physician's office regarding your condition, alternatives and instructions on what to do if your condition changes.

Stamford Health Medical Group offices remain open. In order to maintain social distancing and to protect the health of all patients and medical staff, we encourage you to contact your physician’s office prior to your scheduled appointment, especially if you are not feeling well. Your physician will decide the best way to evaluate your medical concerns, and this may include a telephone conversation, a video conference, an in-person visit, or a referral to the Emergency Department.

If your physician is not part of Stamford Health Medical Group, we encourage you to contact your physician prior to your appointment to best understand their COVID-19 procedures.

Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) is a respiratory illness, similar to influenza. Learn more from the CDC HERE.

Current symptoms reported for patients with COVID-19 have included mild to severe respiratory illness with fever, cough and difficulty breathing. Learn more from the CDC about COVID-19 Symptoms.

The virus that causes COVID-19 spreads from person-to-person. Someone who is actively sick with COVID-19 can spread the illness to others. That is why CDC recommends that these individuals be isolated either in the hospital or at home (depending on how sick they are) until they are better and no longer pose a risk of infecting others.

How long someone is actively sick can vary, so the decision on when to release a person from isolation is made on a case-by-case basis in consultation with doctors, infection prevention and control experts, and public health officials. The decision takes into consideration the specifics of each situation including disease severity, illness signs and symptoms, and results of laboratory testing for that person.

Current CDC guidance for when it is OK to release someone from isolation includes meeting all of the following requirements:

• The individual is free from fever without the use of fever-reducing medications;
• The individual no longer shows symptoms, including cough;
• The individual has tested negative on at least two consecutive respiratory specimens collected at least 24 hours apart.

Individuals who have been released from isolation are not considered to pose a risk of infection to others.

A Monetary Gift
The need for your support has never been greater. Please consider a donation to Stamford Health's COVID-19 Pandemic Response Fund (CPR-F) by visiting this page.

Masks and Other Supplies
Please reach out directly to Belinda Foster at the Stamford Hospital Foundation by emailing bfoster@stamhealth.org or by calling 203.276.5995

Food

• In order to comply with safety standards, we do have some rules around food donations.
• All food must come from a restaurant or licensed catering company and should be prepared as individual portions.
• All portions must be carefully sealed and placed in individual boxes or containers.
• In order to minimize the risk of cross contamination, we cannot accept “shareable” items such as pizza, trays of pasta, or anything home made at this time.

Important: All food inquiries must first be approved and coordinated by Deborah Fedeli who can be reached at dfedeli@stamhealth.org or 203.276.4020.

Thank you very much for the outpouring of support and your willingness to donate. We are truly touched.

No. In accordance with the change in the Stamford Health Visitor Policy, the Health Information Management (HIM) department will not be accepting visitors onsite. HIM will be available by phone for both Stamford Hospital at 203.276.7455 and Stamford Health Medical Group at 203.276.7409. We will provide your records electronically or by mail. Alternatively, we encourage you to sign up for the Patient Portal(s).

Congratulations!

You will be giving birth in the Whittingham Pavilion which is a separate building on our campus dedicated to Women and Children. You will not be in the building where COVID-19 patients are being treated.

I know some other hospitals are not allowing anyone in the birthing room at all—is this true of Stamford Hospital?

Right now, all expectant mothers may be accompanied by one support partner in the labor & delivery room. Your health and safety are always our priority. Please understand that our visitation policy may change as the as circumstances surrounding COVID-19 evolve.