Author: Eli Anderson

Watertown, N.Y. – Samaritan Medical Center will resume elective inpatient procedures effective June 1 after receiving further guidance from the New York State Department of Health (NYS DOH). This news follows the resumption of elective outpatient surgeries and procedures on May 4, for which Samaritan has consistently met and exceeded all safety metrics set forth by the NYS DOH and Governor Andrew Cuomo.

With additional patient safety measures in place, Samaritan feels confident moving forward with inpatient elective surgeries, which include procedures such as total hip and knee replacements and back surgeries.

“This is another progressive step to help our patients who have been waiting for their surgery,” said Andrew Short, vice president and chief operating officer. “Many procedures need an inpatient stay so patients can recover and rehabilitate safely. We will continue to adhere to and exceed all guidelines issued by the state Department of Health and other published medical guidance as we resume these inpatient procedures in the safest and most effective way possible.”

Short said Samaritan continues to recognize the delicate balance between resuming more surgeries and being cautious about the ongoing public health crisis. In addition, patients hospitalized are not permitted to have visitors at this point due to strict hospital visitor restrictions across New York State. This is very important to Samaritan’s staff and communication plans are in place to keep families updated on the progress of their loved ones.

Short added that the return of more surgeries and procedures will impact furloughs. Overall, 36 Samaritan staff members have already been recalled from furlough, many directly connected to the surgical services area.

Samaritan will continue to strictly adhere to NYSDOH guidelines, some of which include:

• Testing all elective surgical and non-urgent procedural patients for COVID-19 three days prior to their scheduled appointment
• Ensuring more than 30 percent vacancy is available in all staffed beds and 30 percent in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds
• Creating a prioritization policy committee to ensure patients’ needs are being met as more cases are being performed
• Ensuring more than a seven-day supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) and medical surgical supplies is on hand
• Ensuring proper staffing
• Providing data on all metrics requested by NYSDOH

Samaritan’s plan will also include special instructions regarding counseling patients to ensure:

• They take appropriate measures to prevent sickness prior to surgery
• They enter the hospital through a dedicated entrance
• They’re properly screened
• They’re escorted to waiting areas
• They understand how to manage the strict visitor restrictions set forth by the NYSDOH

“Overall we need to stress to community members not to delay their care,” Short said. “We have seen a greater number of sick patients coming to our Emergency Department and their primary care office which is concerning. Community members need to feel safe to come in for care.”

Traditional in-office appointments, including pre- and post-surgical appointments, plus preventive care visits, are available. Some services now also offer telemedicine with phone and videoconference options, providing patients with increased access to their providers.

Samaritan Medical Center continues to offer a Resource Line for the community at 315-755-3100, available Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Samaritan Auxiliary, in an abundance of caution and given the uncertainty of when large groups will be able to congregate again, regretfully announces the cancellation of this year’s One Night, One Diamond event. The event that had been scheduled for March 28 was initially postponed due to the concerns related to COVID-19. We are mindful of the impact of our actions on our community, our health care workers, as well as our health care system.

Samaritan Auxiliary continues to be committed to our mission of serving as ambassadors and volunteers to support healthcare programs and improving the quality of care in the Samaritan system through volunteer activities and financial support. The One Night, One Diamond event is Samaritan Auxiliary’s only community fundraising event. It has been extremely successful in raising the funds needed to purchase state-of-the-art equipment for Samaritan Medical Center through the generosity of our event sponsors, donors, and our supporters that purchased tickets.

The proceeds from this year’s event are earmarked to support Samaritan’s new Mohs micrographic surgery service. For the first time in the North Country, Mohs micrographic surgery will be offered at Samaritan Medical Center to treat skin cancer. This specialized tissue-conserving surgical technique offers the highest skin cancer cure rate, while preserving uninvolved skin around the cancer. Dr. Nathanial Miletta, Chief of Mohs Surgery at Samaritan will be leading this effort.

The Mohs equipment for this program is in place. We are hopeful that we can present the check for the equipment to Samaritan Medical Center in the near future. We hope that our sponsors, donors, and ticket holders will be able to continue to support the Auxiliary in this effort.

For those who have purchased tickets and would like to donate the ticket purchase to the Mohs equipment, we will assume that this is your choice if we do not hear from you. For those of you who are unable to support this cause this year, we fully understand the unusual circumstances and the economic impact that this pandemic has created. Please contact the Auxiliary at [email protected] or 315 408-7895 and we will gladly issue a refund for your ticket.

We thank the community for the support they have provided to Samaritan Auxiliary’s One Night, One Diamond event over the past 15 years. We look forward to the day when we can once again gather together to celebrate in support of the advancement of healthcare at Samaritan Medical Center.

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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 232 members, 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 total volunteer hours for 2019 was 20,667 between Samaritan Medical Center, Samaritan Keep Home and Samaritan Summit Village. Since 2006 when the event began raising funds for equipment, Samaritan Auxiliary’s One Night, One Diamond proceeds have purchased over $650,000 in equipment for Samaritan Medical Center.

The Auxiliary owns and manages the Gift Shops at the Samaritan Medical Center, Samaritan Keep Home and Samaritan Summit Village, as well as the Starbucks Coffee Shop at the Medical Center and along with uniform sales, as well as membership dues, it provided funding for support of programs, services and the pledge commitment. The Auxiliary had provided its most recent annual pledge commitment to the Capital Campaign of $500,000 for the Walker Center for Cancer Care.

Among last year’s Auxiliary highlights is the 2019 One Night, One Diamond event where proceeds purchased the tissue tracker for tissue implants at Samaritan Medical Center and an Oncologic Navigation System to help manage the continuum of care for oncology patients at the Walker Center for Cancer Center. Additionally, the sales from the shops and uniform sales provide the funding for programs and services at Samaritan. Here are some examples: the Auxiliary had provided our youngest patients in the Emergency Department and Surgical Care Center with stuffed animals, coloring books and crayons, provided two $1500 scholarships to Samaritan employees to further their education, funded and provided tours at Samaritan Medical Center to 400 second graders of Jefferson County, trained 76 new volunteers for SMC, SKH, and SSV, including college students and teen volunteers, provided a flower for each SSV and SKH residents’ birthday, and provided 17 copies of the Watertown Daily Times for patients at SMC daily. Additionally, the Auxiliary had 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.

Watertown, N.Y. – Samaritan Medical Center received a dose of good news on April 21 when Governor Andrew Cuomo announced hospitals in counties without a significant risk of a COVID-19 surge in the near term can resume elective outpatient surgeries and procedures.

Specific guidance has now been provided by the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH), and Jefferson County is one of the 35 counties able to resume these elective procedures. This announcement positively impacts Samaritan Medical Center, which plans to move forward with these procedures on Monday, May 4.

“Outpatient procedures represent approximately 80 percent of our overall surgeries, so this is obviously very good news,” said Andrew Short, vice president and chief operating officer. “We will adhere to all guidelines issued by the NYSDOH and other published medical guidance as we resume these procedures in the safest and most efficient way possible.”

Short said there is a delicate balance between resuming surgeries and being cautious about the ongoing public health crisis, noting the hospital was forced to postpone approximately 750 procedures.

“In mid-April, we established a committee to thoroughly examine a plan to prioritize the resumption of outpatient elective surgeries,” Short explained. “We’re ready to move forward with these surgical cases next week and have developed policies and procedures to ensure our facilities remain safe for our patients and staff. Our staff are well-trained, we have ample PPE, and we follow all social distancing best practices with our patient populations. We’ll be working with public health authorities and the NYSDOH to carefully implement strategies and procedures to ensure we’re not undoing the work we’ve done as a community to flatten this curve. That is our top priority.”

Short added that the return of outpatient elective surgeries and procedures will impact furloughs, with 14 staff already recalled and more may be added in the near future.

Samaritan’s surgical leadership team, including surgeons, anesthesiologists, nursing staff, and administration, has already reviewed and discussed the state’s medical guidance and has developed a plan based on the guidance provided, with patient safety at the forefront.

Samaritan will strictly adhere to NYSDOH guidelines, some of which include:

• Testing all elective outpatient surgical and non-urgent procedural patients for COVID-19 three days prior to their scheduled appointment
• Ensuring more than 30 percent vacancy is available in all staffed beds and 30 percent in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds
• Creating a prioritization policy committee to ensure patients’ needs are being met as more cases are being performed
• Ensuring we have more than a seven-day supply of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and medical surgical supplies on hand
• Ensuring we have proper staffing
• Providing data on all metrics requested from the NYSDOH

Samaritan’s plan will also include special instructions regarding counseling patients to ensure:

• They take appropriate measures to prevent sickness prior to surgery
• They enter the hospital through a dedicated entrance
• They’re properly screened
• They’re escorted to waiting areas
• They understand how to manage the strict visitor restrictions set forth by the NYSDOH

In addition to announcing the resumption of elective outpatient surgeries and procedures, Samaritan Medical Center continues to meet the needs of all its patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Our commitment to care has not wavered since the start of this crisis,” Short said. “We are here – testing community members, preparing for the weeks ahead, and organizing our staff to provide the best care possible. We are also still here for our patients who need routine services, from primary care and behavioral health to lab work, rehabilitation, radiology, cancer care, and more.”

Traditional in-office appointments, including pre- and post-surgical appointments, plus preventive care visits, are still available. Some services now also offer telemedicine with phone and video-conference options, providing patients with increased access to their providers.

Samaritan Medical Center continues to offer a Resource Line for the community at 315-755-3100, available Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

WATERTOWN, NY – In response to changing patient volumes and recent staff furloughs caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Samaritan Health has announced temporary changes to its outpatient clinics and services.

These changes expand upon a previous consolidation of Samaritan’s Family Health Centers in late March, in which clinics in Cape Vincent, Lacona and Sackets Harbor temporarily closed and patients were referred clinics in Clayton, Adams and LeRay, respectively.

Outpatient clinic changes are as follows:

• Patients of the Sackets Harbor and LeRay Family Health Centers will now be seen the Health & Wellness Plaza, 1575 Washington St., Watertown
• LeRay Urgent Care will remain open and ready to serve all patient needs, but hours will be reduced to 7 days a week from 9am – 5pm.
• Samaritan Rheumatology patients will now be seen at the Health & Wellness Plaza, 1575 Washington St., Watertown
• Samaritan Plastic Surgery patients will be seen at the General Surgery Office, 826 Washington St. in Watertown, effective April 27th.

Outpatient imaging and lab services changes are as follows:

• Clayton Lab & X-Ray hours are now Monday – Friday from 8am – 4pm
• Coffeen Street Lab & X-Ray hours are now 7 days a week from 9am – 5pm
• Samaritan Health and Wellness Plaza Lab, X-Ray and Ultrasound hours will continue to be Monday – Friday from 8am – 4pm
• Adams Lab & X-Ray hours are now Monday – Friday from 9am – 5pm
• LeRay Lab, X-Ray and Ultrasound hours are now Monday – Friday from 9am – 5pm
• North Country Orthopaedic Group Lab Station is now closed until further notice
• North Country Neurology Lab Station (Dr. Latif’s Office) is now closed until further notice

Previous changes that are still in effect:

• Cape Vincent Family Health Center patients will continue to be seen at the Clayton Family Health Center
• Lacona Family Health Center patients will continue to be seen at the Adams Family Health Center.

We also want to encourage the public to use these community-based sites, rather than the hospital, for all lab, x-ray and ultrasounds. All phone and fax numbers will remain the same.

WATERTOWN, NY – Samaritan Medical Center is now offering rapid testing for COVID-19, with results for certain patients available in approximately one hour.

Samaritan’s Laboratory began rapid testing on Thursday, April 16th, after acquiring the Cepheid GeneXpert® XVI testing instrument. This instrument enables technicians to get results from a COVID-19 test in about one hour, while other lab instruments take between four and six hours. Tests that need to be sent to a reference laboratory take longer, typically one or two days.

“We are proud to have such an advanced testing capability right here in our community,” said Tony Marra, Samaritan’s Director of Laboratory Services. “This investment greatly reduces testing turnaround time, which can give patients peace of mind and allow our providers to take action faster, if necessary.”

Due to the limited number of tests available only the following patients will receive rapid testing at this time: inpatients of the hospital or emergency department, residents of long-term care facilities, or other expedited cases, like healthcare workers. All other specimens will continue to be sent to the reference laboratory in New Jersey until more tests become available.

Samaritan reminds the community that its COVID-19 Resource Line – 315-755-3100 – is staffed Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. We encourage all community members who think they might need testing, have symptoms, or may have had contact with COVID-19 to call and let our professional team address your concerns.

WATERTOWN, NY – Samaritan Medical Center’s Emergency Department (ED) entrance, which has been closed for renovations since late January, will reopen this Friday, April 17, at 7:00 a.m.

At the same time, the hospital’s main entrance, which served as the ED entrance during renovations, will temporarily close. Patients seeking emergency care should use the reopened ED entrance, and all non-emergency patients should enter at Main Registration. Obstetric patients should use the dedicated entrance to Samaritan’s Car-Freshner Center for Women and Children, located off of Sherman Street.

Upgrades to the ED’s waiting room intake and triage check-in areas will improve patient privacy and enhance the waiting space for the more than 48,000 patients who seek treatment at the ED in a typical year.

The renovated space includes private intake areas complete with a door for patient privacy, updated fixtures, a new security station, and improved waiting area space for patients and their families. In addition, the heating and cooling system in this area has been upgraded, adding negative pressure to help with infection prevention.

“The new space will give patients in the Emergency Department more privacy and comfort while optimizing the intake and triage processes to shorten wait times,” said Kim Thibert, Samaritan’s Vice President for Patient Care Services and Chief Nursing Officer. “These renovations were made with patient feedback in mind, and we are very pleased to have completed them two weeks ahead of schedule.”

Additional information for patients:
Emergency Departments are best for emergency situations. If you have a life-threatening condition, go straight to your nearest ED. Such conditions include:

• Chest pain
• Difficulty breathing or extreme chest pain
• Stroke
• Head injuries
• Severe bleeding
• Loss of vision
• Drug overdose
• Seizures
• Severe cuts or burns
• Sudden dizziness or numbness
• Severe allergic reactions

Deciding between urgent care or the ED depends on the severity of the health problem. If the condition is life-threatening, go to an ED by calling 911 or be brought in to be seen.

WATERTOWN, NY – Children’s Miracle Network of Northern New York is proud to join a nationwide partnership between Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and Staples US Retail to collect personal protective equipment (PPE) for Samaritan Medical Center.

The collaboration, which will support all 170 Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals throughout the United States and Canada, invites community members to drop off PPE donations at their local Staples retailer. Donations will then be shipped to local hospitals to help caregivers. In Watertown, the Staples store at 1283 Arsenal Street (located within the Arsenal Plaza) will be collecting donations for Samaritan.

Donations of new, unused, unopened PPE such as N95 respirator face masks, disposable face masks, face shields, protective eyewear, and isolation or surgical gowns will be collected. This protective gear is essential to ensure the safety of hospital workers who are care for the most vulnerable patients at children’s hospitals.

“Our patients need us now more than ever,” said Kristin LaClair, Children’s Miracle Network of Northern New York director. “With the support of our local Staples store serving as a collection point for PPE and donations, our healthcare workers can continue to make miracles happen for families here at Samaritan and throughout the North Country.”

“We are grateful for Staples’ help to ensure local children’s hospitals have the resources they need,” said Teri Netsel, Interim President & CEO of Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. “Kids can’t wait to get treatment. When you donate personal protective equipment or funds through our partnership with Staples, CMN Hospitals are able to keep caregivers and kids safe during this crisis.”

Donations can be dropped off only at participating, open Staples stores. They are also accepted online at cmnh.co/staples to help member hospitals fund their greatest needs. Please visit Staples.com for store hours.

Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and Staples are committed to following the safety guidelines outlined by the CDC, federal, state and local authorities. Customers should follow appropriate social distancing and other public health guidelines when dropping of PPE donations. Visit https://cdc.gov/coronavirus for more information.