Dick Uliano, wtop.com

WASHINGTON – The MedStar Washington Hospital Center closed its outpatient clinics at noon Monday due to Hurricane Sandy.

The facilities being closed are all the clinics housing outpatient operations such as colonoscopies, eye exams and various laboratory procedures like blood tests and X-rays.

With Sandy threatening to worsen, a hospital spokesman says managers decided to close the outpatient clinics in an effort to ensure that patients stay safe at home rather than travel in stormy weather.

Tentative plans call for reopening the clinics Tuesday at noon, but a final decision will be made Tuesday morning.

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