More than a dozen hospitals in and around New York City lost phone service on Friday night, hampering their ability to answer the incoming calls of relatives who were seeking to speak with patients or check on their status.

Hospital officials said that there was no danger to patients and that they were making contingency plans, though some were advising outside callers to reach patients on their cellphones.

Among the hospitals that were affected were those in the Northwell Health system, which runs about 20 hospitals in the area, including Lenox Hill Hospital and the Manhattan Eye, Ear & Throat Hospital on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, as well as hospitals in Brooklyn, on Staten Island and Long Island, and in Westchester County.

Jason Molinet, a Northwell spokesman, said all but two of the health network’s hospitals in the area were unable to receive incoming calls. He declined to say which hospitals.