Health care facilities across New York state must implement their own masking requirements for patients, faculty and staff now that the state health department has lifted its mask mandate for those sites.
The policies are expected to adhere to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendations based on transmission levels. Monroe County currently has a medium transmission level rating, and local health officials said they are not in a rush to change current masking policies.
“It's quite complicated,” said Dr. Michael Apostolakos, Strong Memorial Hospital’s chief medical officer.
He added that any new masking policy must make sense and do what’s best for everyone.
“We take care of very sick and vulnerable patients,” Apostolakos said, “But we're also a large organization that has many different areas, and we want to look at it very carefully.”
Many patients have expressed being more comfortable when providers, patients and visitors are masked, he said.
Dr. Robert Mayo, Rochester Regional’s chief medical director, said masks “will always be a vital part of good health care.”
“We're in this moment now of reconsidering how masks are used,”
Dr. Michael Mendoza, Monroe County’s public health commissioner, said the risk within each hospital and health care setting differs. He said it will take some time for local systems to come up with an approach that works for everyone.
“The bottom line is that we don't want to withdraw any precautions prematurely,” Mendoza said.
