Outpatient Covid-19 care center opens in Lawrence

To help battle the coronavirus in the hard-hit Five Towns, Northwell Health has opened a temporary outpatient center at Sh’or Yoshuv Institute in Lawrence that will care for recovering patients, patients who are ill and able to walk, and mildly ill patients.  There was a "soft opening," officials said on April 22.

Along with Northwell Health’s support, the facility was helped by community donations. It will serve as an assessment center and bridge to home for recovering patients. Covid-19 testing is also being performed. It will be staffed by Northwell Health physicians and clinical volunteers recruited by Hatzolah Air, a nonprofit emergency response service. The site will be managed by Northwell.

“We are pleased to have been invited to partner with the community to fulfill the medical needs of the region as the nature and scale of the Covid-19 pandemic evolves,” Michael Goldberg, executive director of Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park, said in a news release. “This temporary clinical facility, run in concert with Hatzolah Air, is a unique way to provide routine care to local residents, avoiding the need for hospital emergency care.”

As is the case at hospitals, visitation is restricted to reduce the risk of spreading the virus, and patients to the Lawrence site must come alone to ensure the safety of staff and fellow patients. Initially, the center is expected to serve 20 to 25 patients a day, officials said. 

Staff will wear personal protective equipment when meeting with patients, practice regular hand hygiene, clean equipment and disinfect the site. The center will remain open as needed, officials said. 

“We’re thankful that the worst did not come to pass and that the facility we developed can be used to heal those most impacted by this pandemic,” said Rabbi Boruch Bender, founder and president of Achiezer, said in the same release.

Achiezer, a Lawrence-based community resource center, has been at the forefront of assisting the community with Covid-19-related issues. “We appreciate the ongoing support offered by Northwell Health, their frontline clinicians and those clinicians from our community who volunteered to work in the facility,” Bender said.

Sh’or Yoshuv Institute, which is temporarily closed, is a Haredi yeshiva founded in 1967 by Rabbi Shlomo Freifeld in Far Rockaway. The school moved to Lawrence in 2003. Haredi Judaism is known for its adherence to a strict interpretation of Jewish law and values, in contrast to contemporary practices.

The center is at 1 CedarLawn Ave. and will be open daily from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. For more information or to make an appointment, call (718) 316-6868.

For the latest health information and Covid-19 updates, visit www.northwell.edu/coronavirus-covid-19.