MASSENA – To better accommodate the schedules and growing number of patients requiring infusion treatments, Massena Hospital recently added another station to its Infusion Suite on the main floor.

“We have moved our office into a more private area which allows us to more easily observe our patients. The new privacy window allows us to be even more discreet when discussing other patients with providers’ offices on the phone,” noted Amanda Stickney, RN, who oversees the Infusion Suite with Katie Premo, RN.

Stickney is also a certified peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) line and Midline nurse which allows her to assist patients requiring those services.

“We offer a very wide range of services, such as IM and subcutaneous injections, as well as a IV medications to treat everything from GI diagnoses to arthritis and everything in between,” Stickney said. We also offer therapeutic phlebotomies for our hemochromatosis patients. We further provide IV hydration, port flushes,and lab draws from ports and PICC lines. We can also assist our patients with PICC line dressing changes, and outpatient antibiotics.”

When coming to the suite, staff will assist patients in getting comfortable in their treatment chair, take the person’s vital signs, and start the IV. Once the infusion begins, patients will be updated on how long the treatment is expected to take, and be educated on any side effects they may experience. Patients will be offered a variety of drinks and snacks, and be brought breakfast or lunch if they desire.

“We strive to make this as pleasant of an experience as possible. Our patients always come first,” Stickney said.

“We are thrilled to be providing such a valuable service to the community, so people who live in Massena can stay here for their treatment without having to travel. Our new patients have expressed great appreciation for our services, as many of them previously had to drive miles or even hours to have their medication administered,” she added.

Hours for the Massena Hospital Infusion Suite are Monday – Friday from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., with extended hours if needed to accommodate a patient’s needs.

Along with Massena, St. Lawrence Health offers Infusion services at the SLH Medical Campus in Canton, and at the Leroy Outpatient Center in Potsdam. For more details, visit the Locations tab at https://stlawrencehealthsystem.org/.