Samaritan Welcomes Three New Specialty Practice Physicians

WATERTOWN, NY – Samaritan Health is pleased to welcome David C. Gordon, MD, PhD; Elizabeth Mathew, MD; and David J. Newman, MD, to its specialty practices and medical staff.

Dr. Gordon will join Samaritan Medical Practice’s Ear, Nose & Throat Group at the end of May. This practice is located in the Samaritan Medical Office Building, 826 Washington St., Suite 204, and can be reached at 315-788-1751.

David Gordon
David C. Gordon, MD, PhD

Dr. Gordon is a Board Certified Otolaryngologist with more than 20 years of experience treating diseases of the ears, nose, and throat with emphasis on sinus- and allergy-related disease. He also treats conditions of the head and neck, including pediatric ENT problems, hearing and balance problems, mouth and throat problems, and neck masses such as thyroid and parathyroid disease.

Dr. Gordon has a long-standing connection to the region, growing up in the 1000 Islands. He obtained a PhD at Queen’s University in Kingston. Dr. Gordon completed his medical degree at the University of Toronto in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He completed his residency in Otolaryngology at the University of Toronto and spent a year at UCLA-Harbor Medical Center in Los Angeles. Dr. Gordon has been a member of the American Board of Otolaryngology since 1999 and is a member of the American Academy of Otolaryngology and Head & Neck Surgery and the American Academy of Otolaryngic Allergy.

He comes to Samaritan from Central New York, where he practiced at Advanced ENT Physicians and Surgeons of CNY since 2006. He also served on the staff of Crouse Hospital, Upstate University Hospital, and Oneida Healthcare. Dr. Gordon will begin seeing new patients in early June.

Dr. Mathew joined Samaritan Rheumatology on March 30th, accompanying Dr. Ingrid Hall at the largest rheumatology provider office in the North Country. She is accepting new patients at her 629 Washington Street office and can be reached at 315-755-3450.

Elizabeth Mathew, MD

Dr. Mathew specializes in the detection and treatment of musculoskeletal diseases and systemic autoimmune conditions including rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, sjogrens, scleroderma, and gout, among others.

She completed her medical education at Government Medical College in Thiruvananthapuram, India. She completed internal medicine residency training at the University of Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, followed by rheumatology fellowship training at Columbia University, New York, NY. She is certified with the American Board of Internal Medicine with subspecialty certification in rheumatology. She is most recently from Ashland, Kentucky, where she worked in the King’s Daughters Health System.

Dr. Newman joined Samaritan Orthopedics on March 1, adding his expertise to the newly established and growing practice at 22567 Summit Drive, Building II. He is currently taking new patients and can be reached at 315-779-6784.

David J. Newman, MD

He is a fellowship-trained surgeon specializing in lower-limb procedures, including knee and hip replacements. His lower-limb specialty is a complement to fellow surgeon Dr. Scott Mollison, who specializes in upper-extremity procedures, including shoulder replacements.

Dr. Newman completed his medical degree at the Saba University School of Medicine in the Caribbean Netherlands, followed by an orthopedic surgical residency at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. He went on to complete fellowship programs in Adult Reconstruction at Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital, Oakville, Ontario, Canada; Lower Limb Arthroplasty & Sports Medicine at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Nedlands, Australia; and Arthroplasty at Kingston General Hospital, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.

Samaritan Medical Center Awarded $5,000 to Expand Home Monitoring Program

Funds from Excellus BlueCross BlueShield’s Community Health Award will purchase pulse oximeters, allowing certain patients to monitor and manage conditions at home

WATERTOWN, NY – Samaritan Medical Center has received $5,000 from Excellus BlueCross BlueShield’s Community Health Award to expand its home healthcare monitoring program.

Through a competitive application process, Excellus BlueCross BlueShield’s Community Health Awards help fund programs that improve the health or health care of a specific population, programs that aim to improve the health status of the community, closes the gaps in health disparities, reduces the incidence of specific diseases, promotes health education and assists our communities in dealing with COVID.

Funds awarded to Samaritan Medical Center will be used to purchase up to 40 medical-grade pulse oximeters, small devices which measure patients’ oxygen saturation levels. These instruments will be issued to outpatients whose oxygenation-related symptoms are not severe enough to require hospitalization, so that their conditions can be monitored at home.

In addition to being sent home with a pulse oximeter, a patient is issued instructions on device usage and a phone number to call should their oxygen saturation levels drop. A care team assigned to each patient provides ongoing follow-up care, including regular home and/or telemedicine visits during the patient’s treatment and recovery periods.

“We are thankful for this support from Excellus BlueCross BlueShield as we seek to enhance convenience of care for our patients,” said Dr. Mario Victoria, Vice President of Medical Affairs and Chief Medical Officer at Samaritan. “We recognize hospitalization is not something any of us want, and if we can safely monitor patients at home using devices like a pulse oximeter, along with the help of our well-trained staff from Samaritan Home Health, we will produce positive outcomes for these patients.”

Earlier this year, Samaritan successfully piloted a program issuing pulse oximeters to COVID-19 patients whose moderate-to-serious symptoms did not warrant hospital admittance. The Community Health Award from Excellus BCBS will allow the hospital to expand the program to other types of patients whose conditions require oxygen monitoring, such as those diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

The Excellus BCBS Community Health Award significantly expands Samaritan’s ability to provide timely, expert medical care that enables patients to recover in the comfort of their homes and avoid costly hospitalization. This helps ensure hospital beds and resources are available to more severely ill patients, easing pressure on hospital bed capacity during the uncertain times of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The company’s Community Health Awards demonstrate a corporate commitment to support local organizations that share our mission as a nonprofit health plan,” said Eve Van de Wal, regional president of Excellus BlueCross BlueShield. “These awards complement our existing grants and sponsorships with agencies that work to enhance quality of life, including health status, in upstate New York.”

Improving access to quality, affordable health care services for our community is a continued goal of both Samaritan Medical Center and Excellus BlueCross BlueShield in their mutual mission to strengthen the region’s overall health care system.

About Samaritan Medical Center
Samaritan Medical Center (Watertown, New York) is a 290-bed not-for-profit community medical center, offering a full spectrum of inpatient and outpatient healthcare services. From primary and emergency care to highly specialized medical and surgical services, such as cancer treatment, neonatal intensive care, behavioral health and addiction services, and imaging services, Samaritan Medical Center and its team of healthcare professionals proudly serves the medical needs of our civilian and military community. Quality, compassion, and safety are the basic principles by which exceptional care is delivered at Samaritan.

About Excellus BlueCross BlueShield
Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, is a nonprofit health plan with 1.5 million upstate New York members. The company’s mission is to help people live healthier and more secure lives through access to high-quality, affordable health care. Its products and services include cost-saving prescription drug discounts, wellness tracking tools and access to telemedicine. With more than 3,500 employees, the company is committed to attracting and retaining a diverse workforce to foster innovation and better serve its members. It also encourages employees to engage in their communities by providing paid volunteer time off as one of many benefits. To learn more, visit ExcellusBCBS.com.

Samaritan Celebrates March 2021 DAISY and BEE Award Recipients

Samaritan Medical Center is pleased to announce its DAISY and BEE Award recipients for March 2021. The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses® recognizes exemplary nursing staff at the hospital, and the BEE Award honors other outstanding staff members who support patient care.

Alison Nugent, RN, of Samaritan’s Infusion Unit, received the DAISY Award and Laura Ross, Patient Care Assistant (PCA) in the Emergency Department, was honored with the BEE Award. Both honorees were nominated by Samaritan colleagues and selected by a committee.

Nugent was nominated for going above and beyond to provide monoclonal antibody therapy to residents of Samaritan Summit Village who had COVID-19. She and co-worker Kodie Anderson, RN, BSN, came into work on the weekend of New Year’s Day to provide the therapy to five residents. Since they worked together, they were both nominated in the same letter, and Anderson was recognized as the February 2021 DAISY recipient.

“I believe these two nurses demonstrated patient centered care, acknowledging that we have many locations and entities at Samaritan and we are all here to deliver safe quality care,” the nomination letter reads. “I am so extremely proud of these nurses and feel they both deserve to be DAISY recipients since they have responded as a tag-team with a warm welcome and smile.”

For receiving the DAISY Award – which is an international award backed by The DAISY Foundation – Nugent was presented a certificate commending her as an extraordinary nurse, a DAISY Award pin, and a symbolic sculpture called “A Healer’s Touch,” which is hand-carved by artists of the Shona Tribe in Zimbabwe. A larger version of this sculpture is on display in the Healing Gardens at Samaritan in honor of all DAISY and BEE Award winners. It was purchased using funds donated by the Samaritan Auxiliary.

Ross was nominated for the BEE Award by Karen Jobson, RN, Emergency Department Nurse Manager, for her compassion, friendliness and hard work to support patient care:

“Laura is an amazing PCA,” Jobson writes in her nomination. “She is compassionate and engaged and provides exceptional care to patients. Laura is a very hard worker — when she has a moment of down time, I can find her cleaning the utility rooms, putting away supplies, making sure all the patient rooms are adequately stocked and free of clutter. Laura always greets our customers with a ‘hello’ and a friendly smile. She definitely displays Samaritan’s HEART values and behaviors.”

Ross was presented a certificate, a BEE Award pin, and a gift bag with other tokens of gratitude.

Both awards will continue to be presented throughout the year, and nominations can be submitted by patients, families, or colleagues at any time. To make a nomination, or to learn more about the DAISY and BEE Awards, visit www.samaritanhealth.com/daisy-bee.

Samaritan’s Adams Family Health Center Remains Open

The Adams Family Health Center is open and lab and x-ray services are still available for all community members. We understand the Adams Urgent Care is now closed, but this is a separate office.

We are still open and serving the community! The Adams Family Health Center is accepting new patients — call for an appointment at 315-232-4400. Learn more about our Family Health Center locations by clicking here.

Samaritan Celebrates February 2021 DAISY and BEE Award Recipients

Samaritan Medical Center is pleased to announce its DAISY and BEE Award recipients for February 2021. The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses® recognizes exemplary nursing staff at the hospital, and the BEE Award honors other outstanding staff members who support patient care.

Kodie Anderson, RN, BSN, of Samaritan’s Infusion Unit, received the DAISY Award and Gabrielle Rickett, Radiologic Technologist, was honored with the BEE Award. Both honorees were nominated by fellow staff members and selected by a committee.

Anderson was nominated for going above and beyond to provide monoclonal antibody therapy to residents of Samaritan Summit Village who had COVID-19. She and co-worker Alison Nugent, RN, came into work on the weekend of New Year’s Day to provide the therapy to five residents. Since they worked together, they were both nominated in the same letter, and Nugent was recognized as the March 2021 DAISY recipient.

“I believe these two nurses demonstrated patient centered care, acknowledging that we have many locations and entities at Samaritan and we are all here to deliver safe quality care,” the nomination letter reads. “I am so extremely proud of these nurses and feel they both deserve to be DAISY recipients since they have responded as a tag-team with a warm welcome and smile.”

For receiving the DAISY Award – which is an international award backed by The DAISY Foundation – Anderson was presented a certificate commending her as an extraordinary nurse, a DAISY Award pin, and a symbolic sculpture called “A Healer’s Touch,” which is hand-carved by artists of the Shona Tribe in Zimbabwe. A larger version of this sculpture is on display in the Healing Gardens at Samaritan in honor of all DAISY and BEE Award winners. It was purchased using funds donated by the Samaritan Auxiliary.

Rickett was nominated for the BEE Award by her supervisor, William Cain, for her positive attitude, willingness to step up, and her flexibility throughout the COVID-19 pandemic:

“She has been a shining example to all the other techs on how to carry yourself during a disaster [like this pandemic],” Cain writes in his nomination. “Her technical skills, work ethic and patient care skills are second-to-none in my department. Gabrielle is the type of employee that keeps a department going during tough times. She is the backbone of radiology.”

Rickett was presented a certificate, a BEE Award pin, and a gift bag with other tokens of gratitude.

Both awards will continue to be presented throughout the year, and nominations can be submitted by patients, families, or colleagues at any time. To make a nomination, or to learn more about the DAISY and BEE Awards, visit www.samaritanhealth.com/daisy-bee.

Long Term Care Full Visitation Resumed with COVID-19 Precautions

Watertown, NY — On Friday, March 26, Samaritan Health received official notification from the Department of Health (DOH) that full visitation can resume at Samaritan’s Nursing Homes and Assisted Living facility.

It is important to note that visitation is allowed in the rooms, but if a resident is in a semi-private room only one resident at a time may have visitors. Visiting hours are between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., 7 days a week, and visitors do not need to make an appointment. Two (2) visitors are allowed per resident, and anyone age 16 or under must be accompanied by an adult.

Visitors will be screened in upon entry. Everyone must wear a mask while inside the facility, perform hand hygiene at the screening table, provide phone numbers for contact tracing, and sign in and out. Vaccination status will be collected, but is optional.

Visits will be limited to 1 hour to allow all visitors for this important reunion. Once in the building, visitors must go straight to their loved one’s room, stay in the room for the entire visit, and social distance at all times. Masks must remain on during visits. Please be mindful to adhere to the 1-hour rule so others have time to see their loved ones.

Per DOH guidance: If the resident is fully vaccinated, they may choose to have close contact (including touching) with their visitor while wearing a well-fitting face mask and performing hand-hygiene before and after. Regardless, visitors should physically distance from other residents and staff while in the facility. The cafeteria and café’ are both closed for visitors and residents at this point.

Samaritan Welcomes New Chief Information Officer

Benware

Watertown, NY – Samaritan is pleased to welcome Joel P. Benware, Chief Information Officer (CIO), to Samaritan’s administration and senior leadership team. Benware brings more than 21 years of information technology (IT) experience to the position, including a more than 16-year tenure in healthcare-specific IT leadership roles.

Benware

Before joining Samaritan, Benware worked in senior leadership roles at Northwestern Medical Center, St. Albans, VT, serving as Chief Information, Innovation and Compliance Officer between 2013-2019 and as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Compliance Officer since 2019. Prior to these roles, he worked as Chief Information Officer of Alice Hyde Medical Center, Malone, NY, and Chief Technology Officer at the Albany College of Pharmacy. In these positions, he provided oversight of health information systems; planned, developed and optimized facility-wide electronic medical record rollouts; managed staffs of IT professionals, and ensured security and privacy best practices were in place.

“We are pleased to welcome Joel to the leadership team at Samaritan,” said Tom Carman, President and CEO of Samaritan Medical Center. “His strong technical background and his understanding of the unique technological challenges and opportunities faced by the healthcare industry will serve us well. We look forward to his leadership and guidance as we continue to make the latest advancements in care for our patients, residents and community members.”

“I am excited join Samaritan Medical Center and work with a team of innovative leaders who leverage technology to solve complex health care issues,” Benware said. “Our key focus is to make sure our business and clinical processes are efficient, enabling our caregivers to keep full attention on the patient. We also strive to deliver health information in a secure, convenient way that allows each patient to participate in their health and wellness journey and make decisions with their care team.”

Benware has a Master of Science in Healthcare Administration from Champlain College, a Master of Arts in Instructional Technologies from Appalachian State University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Secondary Education from SUNY Potsdam. Benware has ties to the local area, with his hometown being Malone, NY. He began his employment at Samaritan on March 1, 2021.

Samaritan Auxiliary’s 19th Annual “ONE NIGHT, ONE DIAMOND” to focus on honoring our Samaritan Healthcare Heroes and the purchase of PPE

Watertown, NY – Samaritan Auxiliary’s 19th Annual “One Night, One Diamond” will be celebrated virtually in honor of all Samaritan Staff as Our Healthcare Heroes on Saturday, March 27th at 7pm. Proceeds from the 2021 One Night, One Diamond event will assist with the purchase of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for all Samaritan Staff – our heroes!

This past year, the pandemic has dramatically changed our lives in so many ways. Fortunately, Samaritan led us through these unprecedented times. Whether it was a call to the COVID Resource Line, COVID testing, a visit to a primary care physician, a visit to the Emergency Department or a stay in the hospital’s COVID Unit – Samaritan was there. As a community we are most fortunate to have the heroes at Samaritan taking care of us. Their efforts have been caring, committed, compassionate, and courageous and we are thankful that our community is hopefully beginning to get back to normal.

As a way to honor them, all Samaritan employees will be automatically entered for an opportunity to win the Lab grown, ¾-carat, round, brilliant cut diamond donated by Cook’s Jewelers; a two-night getaway package donated by Lake Placid’s Mirror Lake Inn; a one-night getaway package donated by 1000 Islands Harbor Hotel in Clayton, or a $250 gift certificate donated by The Scrub Hub. The event will include an update on the equipment that was purchased with the proceeds from the 2020 One Night, One Diamond event. We will also hear from a few healthcare providers sharing their professional and personal perspectives on the past year.

Please visit the event website at www.samaritanhealth.com/onod for more information on how to participate in honoring our Samaritan heroes and assist in the purchase of PPE. An RSVP would be appreciated by March 25 in order to allow time to email information on how to join the event. For more information or with questions, please contact event chairperson Irene Carman at [email protected]

Presenting Sponsors for the 2021 “One Night, One Diamond” are Apogee Physicians and Purcell Construction. Media Sponsors are the Watertown Daily Times and 7News/Fox 28/MeTV North Country. Other top sponsors include FX Caprara Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram of Alexandria Bay, Hancock Estabrook, KeyBank, The Martin Group, Northern Radiology Associates, Renzi Foodservice Charitable Foundation, Runningboards Marketing, Slack Chemical Company, and T. Urling Walker. The event receives additional support from numerous other sponsors at the Emerald, Ruby and Sapphire levels.

About Samaritan Auxiliary: The Samaritan Auxiliary was established in 1896 to serve as ambassadors and volunteers to support and enhance healthcare programs at the House of the Good Samaritan. As a 501(c)(3) organization, the Samaritan Auxiliary and its membership, composed entirely of volunteers, play a vital role today in improving the quality of care in the Samaritan system through volunteer activities and financial support. The One Night, One Diamond proceeds have purchased $700,000 in equipment for Samaritan Medical Center.

Among last year’s Auxiliary highlights is the 2020 One Night, One Diamond. Although the event had to be cancelled, due to the gracious generosity of all sponsors and donors the proceeds purchased the equipment necessary to perform Mohs surgery. Mohs surgery is a precise surgical technique that offers the highest skin cancer cure rate available. During Mohs surgery, thin layers of cancer-containing skin are progressively removed and examined until only cancer-free tissue remains, allowing you to go home with the knowledge the skin cancer is definitively cleared. For the first time in the North Country, Samaritan Medical Center was proud to offer this specialized technique to our community in 2020. The additional funds raised were used to purchase a Clorox Optimum-UV light to kill bacteria and viruses as an adjuvant to terminal cleaning of patient rooms after discharge.

Aside from the community-sponsored One Night, One Diamond event, the Auxiliary manages the gift shops at Samaritan Medical Center, Samaritan Keep Home and Samaritan Summit Village, as well as the Starbucks Coffee Shop at the Medical Center. It is the sales from the gift shops and Starbucks Coffee Shop, along with the five uniform sales and membership dues, which provides funding for support of programs, services, two scholarships, and the pledge commitment.

Additionally, the Auxiliary has continued the WHALE (We Have A Little Emergency) child safety seat ID program ([email protected]) and That’s Using Your Head, a helmet ID safety program ([email protected]), in conjunction with our Kinney Drugs Foundation partner and 7News/Fox28/MeTV North Country media partner.

Samaritan to Allow Limited Hospital Visitation and Emergency Department Support Persons

Watertown, NY – Samaritan Medical Center will re-open limited hospital inpatient visitation starting Monday, March 15, 2021 and Emergency Department (ED) support persons starting Wednesday, March 17, 2021. Both were paused in late October 2020 when COVID-19 infection rates increased and a surge of cases impacted our region.

Samaritan is pleased to welcome back these visitors and support persons, who are important to the care and recovery of our patients. However, some restrictions will apply to limit the number of people in our facilities on any given day.

Please click here to see complete visitation guidelines.

Inpatient visitors will be allowed to visit based on the updated guidelines outlined below. Our inpatients will make the determination who can visit them during their inpatient stay since they are limited to one visitor per day. At entry, all visitors will be asked questions about travel and exposure to COVID-19. They will also have their temperature taken and will be expected to sanitize their hands and properly wear a face mask at all times.

Hospital Inpatients:

  • One (1) designated visitor per day per patient is permitted. Exceptions may be made for end-of-life visitation and must be arranged with the nursing supervisor.
  • NO visitation is permitted for COVID-19 inpatients, COVID-19 Patients Under Investigation (PUI) or patients in quarantine. Exceptions may be made for end-of-life visitation and must be arranged with the nursing supervisor.
  • Visiting hours are from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. each day.

Emergency Department Patients (beginning 3/17/2021):

  • Only one (1) support person will be able to accompany a patient in the Emergency Department.
    • The support person will be asked to wait in the car if a COVID test is performed during intake in the Emergency Department.
  • Support person must remain in the patient’s treatment room for the entire visit.
  • Support person must be screened for COVID-19 symptoms.
  • Support person must wear a mask at all times, practice social distancing and proper hand hygiene.
  • If an Emergency Department patient is admitted to the hospital, their support person may accompany them to their room if the transfer occurs during inpatient visiting hours (2:00 – 6:00 p.m.). If they are admitted outside of visiting hours, the support person must return during visiting hours.
  • Patients with a Left Ventricular Assistive Device (LVAD) will be allowed to have a support person with them immediately upon arrival.

Any patient, no matter the hospital location or service, with an intellectual and/or developmental disability (I/DD), or any patient with a cognitive impairment such as dementia, may designate two (2) support persons to participate in their care; however, only one (1) support person at a time will be allowed at the bedside.

Overall, there are General Visitation Guidelines that apply to all visitors that enter the Medical Center:

  • All visitors must be 18 years of age or older.
  • All visitors must enter and exit through the Rotunda entrance (circular building between the Medical Center and Keep Home), except for obstetrics visitors, who need to use the Car-Freshner Center for Women and Children entrance.
  • Visitors will be asked to visibly wear the visitor ID name tag provided at entry.
  • Visitors will be provided with a face mask upon entry to the facility and must wear the mask at all times while inside the facility. If a visitor refuses to wear a mask, they will be asked to leave the facility.
  • Visitors should wash their hands frequently with soap and water or use alcohol-based hand sanitizer, especially before and after entering a patient’s room.
  • Visitors must stay in the patient’s room, or designated area identified by staff, unless directed by staff to leave the room during a procedure.
    • Visitors may not roam hallways, enter the cafeteria or any other location.
    • Visitors cannot accompany patients to tests outside of their room.
  • All visitors should do their best to stay at least six (6) feet away from others while in the facility.
  • Visitors should self-screen for contagious diseases before arriving and before accessing patient care areas.
    • Please do not visit if you are ill.
    • If you have been in contact with someone with COVID-19 or have symptoms of COVID-19 within the past 14 days, please do not visit the hospital.
  • All visitors are required to comply with our screening checkpoint procedures. If you are unable to comply, you will not be permitted an in-person visit in the hospital.

If you cannot visit for any reason, you may contact your loved one over the phone or through a scheduled video call. The patient’s care team can help set up the video call if the patient needs help.

We encourage all patients to continue calling our Resource Line if they have questions or concerns about COVID-19 or think they may have symptoms. Please call 315-755-3100.

Campus Map

Northern Radiology Imaging and Samaritan Medical Center Announce Plans for Samaritan to Purchase Imaging Assets in an Effort to Streamline Patient Access and Provide Continuity of Care

Watertown, N.Y. – Samaritan Medical Center (SMC) and Northern Radiology Imaging (NRI) announced today SMC will purchase NRI’s Imaging Center assets, which will consolidate and align services in an effort to streamline patient access and enhance the continuity of care for diagnostic imaging services. Samaritan will purchase all equipment from NRI effective March 15, 2021.

SMC will offer NRI patients services through its existing, and soon to be expanded, radiology platform. Patients will enjoy the same skilled radiology services as they did at NRI, as NRI’s physicians are the same radiologists who have expertly served SMC for decades through their other practice, Northern Radiology Associates (NRA).

The agreement comes after much discussion dating back to 2017. Original plans to align were delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

To meet the anticipated increase in demand for imaging services volume, SMC will move its main community-based radiology and imaging location to a new, expanded facility at the Samaritan Health and Wellness Plaza at 1575 Washington St., scheduled to open in late April 2021.

Northern Radiology Imaging, located at 1571 Washington St. which is directly in front of SMC’s Health & Wellness Plaza, will close at the end of the day on March 5, 2021, which will allow the practice time to transition patients if needed or requested to SMC. SMC will not re-open at NRI’s location as it does not meet the physical requirements needed to operate a hospital-level radiology service.

SMC will continue to offer imaging services including MRI, CT scan, ultrasound, X-ray and more at its main hospital location, plus X-ray and ultrasound services at various community-based sites. These sites provide access to walk-in and appointment-based imaging and lab services.

The new, expanded imaging facility at the Samaritan Health and Wellness Plaza will provide comprehensive community-based imaging services complete with MRI, PET, and CT scans, ultrasound, X-ray, mammography, stereotactic breast biopsies and more.

All physicians who are part of Northern Radiology Associates will continue to provide radiology and image interpretation services for Samaritan at all its locations. The radiologists will remain in private practice and will not be directly employed by the hospital.

In addition, some NRI staff will be hired by Samaritan. All staffing needs are being evaluated now and will be directly communicated to impacted staff members.

Prior to the opening of its new facility, Samaritan is fully prepared to meet the needs of the community and handle the additional patients through expanded hours and increased access at many of our existing imaging locations.

Thomas H. Carman, president and chief executive officer at SMC, said the strategic acquisition of the highly respected NRI will offer patients the outstanding customer service they are accustomed to, with the same providers, ensuring their access to the best care possible.

“We are pleased to bring this transaction to closure as it strategically aligns the Northern Radiology physicians and SMC for the future growth of our diagnostic imaging services, while at the same time strengthening a long-standing partnership. SMC will continue to provide high-quality technical services and NRA will continue to offer their professional interpretations,” said Carman.

Dr. Dean J. Phillips, NRA’s president and director of outpatient imaging at NRI, echoes Carman’s statement and adds that the radiologists are delighted with the transaction and excited to take this next step in aligning the provision of radiology services to the community.

“Our radiologists, as practitioners and longtime business owners, bring a wealth of knowledge and experience in the provision of imaging services,” he said. “We are pleased the day has finally come for us to unify outpatient imaging with SMC in meeting the ongoing and growing imaging needs of patients and the medical staff.”

Currently, SMC handles over 100,000 radiology and imaging procedures per year.

SMC patients in need of a new appointment are asked to contact the Medical Center’s central scheduling office at 315-779-5200. Current Northern Radiology Imaging patients should refer to their direct patient communication or call 315-786-5000 for further details.

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