A sign outside Adirondack Health’s dental care facility on Barn Road in Lake Placid is seen here Tuesday. (Enterprise photo — Lauren Yates)

LAKE PLACID — Adirondack Health’s dental care facility in Lake Placid is still operating as the state Department of Health continues its review of the hospital’s proposed closure plan for the facility.

Though Adirondack Health aimed to close its dental care office by May 1 after submitting a proposed closure plan for the facility to the state Department of Health on Feb. 1, the office has remained open over the last week and a half as the hospital waits for a determination on the plan, which was still under review by the state DOH as of Tuesday, according to DOH Public Information Officer Monica Pomeroy. Matt Scollin, the director of communications for Adirondack Health, said on Wednesday that the facility is still seeing patients in the meantime, though open hours are subject to “staff availability.” The facility was closed on Tuesday due to staff scheduling, according to Scollin.

The hospital has also submitted a proposed closure plan for its emergency room in Lake Placid, but Pomeroy said on Tuesday that plan was still under review, too.

The hospital can’t implement its proposed closure plans for its facilities without first receiving written approval from the state DOH, according to the department’s guidelines on closure plans.

The hospital sent letters to the dental care facility’s approximately 2,000 patients in late February and early March notifying them of the potential closure. In an email to the Enterprise, Scollin cited financial “stressors” and staffing issues as Adirondack Health’s reasons for seeking authorization to close the office, saying that the dental practice typically adds $350,000 to health network deficits each year. Scollin placed the hospital’s 2022 deficits at around $10 million this past October. The hospital has been searching for a new dental hygienist to work at the facility for the last three years.