Author: Leslie Distefano

On Friday, December 4, Samaritan Health received notice a resident at Samaritan Keep Home long-term care facility tested positive for COVID-19. This is the first time a resident of either of Samaritan Health’s two long-term care facilities has tested positive for the virus.

It has been determined the resident contracted the virus from a home visit over the Thanksgiving holiday. The resident has been in isolation since they returned to the facility, as per New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) protocol for home visits. The resident initially received a negative test result once they returned to Samaritan Keep Home, but their second test this week came back positive.

Samaritan Keep Home staff are now going one step further and creating a COVID-unit with established procedures, separating this resident even more from the rest of the population. At this point the resident does not require hospitalization.

All staff have been in full Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) as if the resident were COVID-19 positive since they returned from their home visit. Staff and residents continue to be tested weekly, per NYSDOH guidelines.

Our staff are fully trained and prepared to respond to a scenario like this. We’re confident the precautionary measures our staff has been taking – such as isolating the resident, masking, eye protection, sanitizing and regular temperature checks – have helped minimize exposure.

Samaritan Health places the health and safety of our residents and staff above all else and will continue diligent efforts to prevent the spread of this virus in our facilities, following all NYSDOH directives for testing and contact tracing.

Samaritan Medical Center has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® for Primary Stroke Center Certification by demonstrating continuous compliance with its performance standards. The Gold Seal is a symbol of quality that reflects a health care organization’s commitment to providing safe and quality patient care.

The certification recognizes health care organizations that provide clinical programs across the continuum of stroke care.  The certification evaluates how organizations use clinical outcomes and performance measures to identify opportunities to improve care, as well as to educate and prepare patients and their caregivers for discharge.

Samaritan Medical Center underwent a rigorous onsite review in November 2019. During the visit, a Joint Commission reviewer evaluated compliance with related certification including: specific stroke core measures, program management through Get with the Guidelines, and delivering and facilitating clinical stroke care.  Joint Commission standards are developed in consultation with health care experts and providers, measurement experts, and patients. The reviewers also conducted onsite observations and interviews.

“Primary Stroke Center Certification recognizes health care organizations committed to fostering continuous quality improvement in patient safety and quality of care,” says Mark Pelletier, RN, MS, chief operating officer, Accreditation and Certification Operations, and chief nursing executive, The Joint Commission. “We commend Samaritan Medical Center for using certification to reduce variation in its clinical processes and to strengthen its program structure and management framework for stroke patients.”

“A stroke is a medical emergency that needs a quality team to identify, assess and begin treatment to help stop the damage,” states Dr. Mario Victoria, Samaritan Medical Center Chief Medical Officer. “Reaching this level of designation as a Primary Stroke Center from The Joint Commission is a testament to the quality stroke care Samaritan can provide locally. The level of detail, training and sheer determination from the clinical staff to reach this level of designation is humbling as the Chief Medical Officer.”

Samaritan prepared for its Primary Stroke Center Certification by taking many valuable steps and learning from other experts in the field.  Preparation included:

• Demonstrating compliance with the set of clinical practice guidelines required. The guidelines are specific to the care and outcomes of patients that may experience a transient ischemic attack (TIA), cerebrovascular accident (CVA), or a hemorrhagic stroke. This assists organizations in establishing a consistent approach to care, reducing variation and the risk of error, along with improving patient outcomes.
• Educating staff in the care of the stroke patient with evidence-based guidelines.
• Developing policy and procedures.
• Implementing a performance improvement committee for ongoing process improvement.
• Providing 24/7 acute stroke team with ability to provide IV clot buster medication with close monitoring from highly qualified staff.
• Establishing collaboration with Emergency Medical Services (EMS).
• Establishing collaboration with the State and Regional Stroke Centers.
•  Committing to providing high-quality patient care from the onset of symptoms to rehabilitation.

For more information, please visit The Joint Commission’s website.

Fort Drum is being considered for the stationing of a fourth Army Corps Headquarters. We welcome the opportunity to support an Army Corps Headquarters, along with the Soldiers and Families that will come to the North Country.

The North Country has the community capacity to address the off-post quality needs of an additional 630 Soldiers and support their Families as they maintain a rotational Operational Command Post in Europe.

Advocate Drum and Samaritan Medical Center requests that you help show the community’s strong support for hosting the fourth Army Corps Headquarters by signing the petition located on our website – www.advocatedrum.com.  

We need your support and we can do it one person at a time. It is expected that the Department of the Army will make this decision quickly, so please show your support by signing the petition today.