52 THE QUEENS COURIER • WELLNESS • JUNE 17, 2021 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
wellness
CityMD opens new urgent care center in Rockaway Park
Photo courtesy of CityMD
New York relaxing school mask requirements for outdoors
BY ALEJANDRA O’CONNELLDOMENECH
adomenech@schnepsmedia.com
@AODNewz
New York state will still require schools
to keep current mask requirements for
students and staff while indoors, but is
allowing localities to drop outdoor maskwearing
requirements for schoolchildren,
Governor Andrew Cuomo said last week.
Th e reversal comes aft er state Health
Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker sent a
letterto Rochelle P. Walensky, director of the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
revealing the state planned to lift mask
requirements for schools and camps.
“Indoors, mask use will be strongly
encouraged but not required for students,
campers and staff /teachers/counselors
who are not fully vaccinated,” the letter
reads. Outdoors, masks are not required;
students, campers, staff , teachers and
counselors who are not fully vaccinated
are “encouraged” to wear a mask in certain
higher-risk circumstances.
Despite the easing of state mask requirements,
the New York City Department of
Education said it planned to keep its current
health and safety protocol in place
for schools and require all students, faculty
and staff to continue to wear masks
indoors with backing from the city’s
teacher union, the United Federation of
Teachers.
“Th e health and safety of our students,
educators and staff remain our top priority.
Per state guidance, local districts may
implement standards that make the most
sense for their communities, and we are
continuing with our universal mask policy
at our schools,” DOE spokesperson
Danielle Filson said.
Th e policy reversal comes aft er the CDC
told state offi cials it will not issue changes
to its mask-wearing guidelines for “several
weeks,” according to the governor.
“In New York state we are going to modify
the CDC guidance and allow schools to
choose no masks outside for children …
We spoke to the CDC. It has no objection
to that,” Cuomo said.
Th e change also came shortly aft er the
governor announced the state would ease
more COVID health and safety guidelines
once 70 percent of adults in New
York state receive at least one dose of a
COVID-19 vaccine. “Th ere will still be
some institutional guidelines, large venues,
schools, public transportation, hospitals,
nursing homes but when we hit 70
percent we will be back to life as normal
or as normal as you can be post-COVID,”
the governor said.
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Th e 120,000 people who live in the
Rockaways have experienced insuffi -
cient access to health care services since
Peninsula Hospital closed in 2012, and
with new development increasing the
population each year, demand for medical
options have grown exponentially.
With health care needs increasing,
CityMD opened its newest urgent care
center in the heart of Rockaway Park, at
116-01 Rockaway Beach Boulevard, on
Tuesday, June 8.
Th e latest CityMD marks the 17th location
in Queens and it will support the
emergency needs of families in Rockaway
and nearby communities with convenient
weekday and weekend hours, as well as a
self-check-in kiosk. Th e new location has
on-site, state-of-the-art technology, which
include X-ray and EKG machinery.
“CityMD’s Rockaway opening is another
example of our continued commitment
to providing Queens residents access to
a comprehensive network,” said Vincent
Campasano, MD, chief operating offi cer,
NY Region. “Th is is the fi rst location we
have opened on the Rockaway Peninsula,
and it is just a block away from the 116th
Street A train station.”
Patients of all ages can visit CityMD for
many reasons, including treatment for
upper respiratory infections, cold and fl u,
asthma, allergies, minor lacerations, sore
throats, insect bites and rashes, among
other conditions. On-site doctors can
diagnose and treat pink eye, croup, minor
orthopedic injuries and nosebleeds. Rapid
testing for fl u, strep throat, mononucleosis,
UTIs and other conditions are also
among available services.
CityMD Rockaway off ers three forms of
COVID-19 testing — rapid, PCR and antibody
testing. An expert team of doctors and
clinical assistants helps patients coordinate
their follow-up care, ranging from referrals
to pre-approvals and other appointments.
Aft er visits, patients can also send bill
payments, view statements, update their
information, and even submit questions
through CityMD’s secure online portal.
“We’re really excited to be opening
this new center in Rockaway today,”
Campasano said. “As we believe it off ers a
convenient location for residents who previously
didn’t have easy and local access to
urgent care services.”
CityMD was founded in 2010 by a
group of emergency medicine physicians
who decided it was time for health care to
evolve by providing convenient, effi cient,
high-quality care for all. Serving every
patient with respect and genuine kindness
is the philosophy that has helped grow the
company from one Manhattan location to
145 urgent care locations throughout the
greater New York area.
CityMD opened its new current care center on 116th Street in Rockaway Park.
Photo via Getty Images
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