Watertown, NY — Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals of Northern New York is pleased to announce 8-year-old Raelynn Graveline of Watertown as its 2025 Champion.
Each year, 170 Children’s Miracle Network hospitals across the country identify a champion in their community to serve as the face for children treated at their hospital. Children’s Miracle Network of Northern New York at Samaritan Medical Center (CMN) has chosen an annual local champion since 2019. The 2024 Champion was Sophia O’Connor of Carthage.
“Raelynn and her family have been actively involved with our CMN program since she was an infant,” said Angie VanWormer, director of Children’s Miracle Network at Samaritan. “She had a rough start, but now she’s spunky, spirited, and excited to take on this role. Her family is always looking for ways to give back, and we are grateful that they are part of our CMN family.”
Raelynn’s journey began with an unexpected diagnosis: Tetralogy of Fallot, a complex heart condition. At just 21 days old, she underwent open-heart surgery, followed by a rollercoaster recovery filled with challenges. She needed a second surgery, and the financial strain on her family grew. That’s when they learned about the Direct Family Assistance Program offered by CMN at Samaritan. The program provided crucial financial assistance for medical expenses and travel. Today, Raelynn is thriving, and her family is thankful for the support that helped them through their darkest days.
Regarding the assistance provided to them by CMN, Raelynn’s mother, Amanda, says, “You never know when it could be you. I certainly didn’t expect to need it, but when you do, it’s a blessing.” Raelynn’s father, Michael, added, “CMN has helped us out so much, and any time we get a chance to help them back, we take it.”
Through the Direct Family Assistance Program, CMN continues to be there for Raelynn and kids like her to help ease the financial burden of medical care. This program is available to children in Jefferson, Lewis, and St. Lawrence counties who are facing a health crisis to help with out-of-pocket costs related to necessary medical care, including travel to specialists and expenses not covered by insurance.
For more information on Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, contact Samaritan Medical Center at 315-785-4053 or [email protected]
Watertown, N.Y. – There is an old wives’ tale that suggests babies born on New Year’s Day are lucky for life. It was a very lucky New Year indeed at Samaritan Medical Center’s Car-Freshner Center for Women and Children, as three bundles of joy arrived January 1, 2025.
The first baby of 2025 at Samaritan is Beau Belle Tanguay, born at 8:28 a.m. to parents Krasila and John Tanguay. Beau weighed in at 7 pounds, 7 ounces and measured 19 inches long. Krasila and John say they were not expecting little Beau to arrive on New Year’s Day. Her due date was set for January 25, so her arrival was a big surprise. Now, mom and baby are both doing well and are excited to meet big sister, Raelynn, at home.
“I think it’s cool, having your birthday on New Year’s Day. Everyone is celebrating your birthday anyway!” Krasila said. As for their hopes for baby Beau, Krasila and John say, “We just want her to be healthy and thrive.”
Also born New Year’s Day was Audrey Theresa Rabetoy, to parents Britney Pooler and Logan Rabetoy, weighing 7 pounds, 11 ounces, and measuring 20 inches long. The third baby of the New Year is Edward, who weighed in at 7 pounds, 8 ounces, and 20.5 inches long. We wish all three families good luck and happiness, this year and beyond.
Pictured above is Beau Belle Tanguay, the first baby of the New Year born at Samaritan’s Car-Freshner Center for Women and Children. Pictured with Beau are her parents, Krasila and John Tanguay.
Watertown, N.Y. Samaritan Medical Center is pleased to announce the addition of Dr. Jane Simpson, a board-certified palliative care physician, to its healthcare team. Dr. Simpson will provide expert palliative care services to patients and their families, focusing on enhancing the quality of life for individuals facing serious illness.
Dr. Simpson completed her medical degree at Edward Via Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Blacksburg, VA. She completed her Family Medicine residency at UHS Wilson Memorial Hospital, Binghamton, NY, and a Hospice and Palliative Medicine fellowship at Brown University Warren Alpert School of Medicine, Providence, RI. Doctor Simpson is Board Certified by the American Board of Family Medicine for Family Medicine and Hospice and Palliative Medicine. She is a North Country native and is excited to be back home to provide compassionate care to her neighbors.
Palliative care is a specialized medical care that provides relief from the symptoms and stress of a serious illness. The goal is to improve quality of life for any age and any stage in most serious illnesses, not just cancer. Dr. Simpson brings experience in palliative care, specializing in symptom management, pain relief, and psychosocial support. With a deep commitment to patient-centered care, Dr. Simpson works alongside oncologists, nurses, and other specialists to develop personalized care plans that address the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of cancer patients and their loved ones.
“Palliative care is an essential component of serious or life-threatening illness, aiming to improve the well-being of patients and provide support during challenging times,” said Dr. Simpson. “I look forward to joining the dedicated team at Samaritan and helping to ensure that each patient receives the care they deserve.”
As a compassionate and skilled physician, Dr. Simpson will work closely with patients to manage complex symptoms, assist in decision-making, and provide comfort to patients and families navigating difficult decisions related to treatment. Palliative care is an integral part of the multidisciplinary approach to care, emphasizing quality of life and dignity at every stage of the illness.
“We are excited to have Dr. Simpson join our team,” said Kay Sullivan, director of oncology services at the Walker Center for Cancer Care. “Her expertise in palliative care aligns with our mission to provide the most comprehensive and compassionate care to our patients.”
Friday, December 27, 2024, Watertown Health and Wellness Plaza Update
The water main break has been resolved and the Health and Wellness Plaza is open today for business as usual. Thank you
Thursday, December 26, 2024
Today, Thursday, December 26, 2024, all in-person appointments at Samaritan’s Health and Wellness Plaza on outer Washington Street will be adjusted to telehealth, rescheduled, or adjusted to another location, due to a water main break. Patients with appointments will be contacted to be adjusted to another location, to telehealth, or to be rescheduled.
This includes appointments at the Watertown Family Health Center, outpatient mental health/addiction services, SMART Clinic, Women’s Wellness and Breast Care, imaging at the plaza including mammography, ultrasound, and more. Also included in this disruption are the walk-in lab and X-ray services at that location. Those who need walk-in lab and X-ray services in Watertown may visit the Medical Center or our Coffeen Street location. Our goal is to reopen all in-person services at the Health and Wellness Plaza on Friday, December 27, 2024, or once the issue is resolved. Thank you.
Watertown, N.Y. – At Samaritan, there are volunteers who serve at the hospital, long term care facilities, special events, off-site offices and on various boards of our respective entities. Initiated in 2023, the HIVE (Helpful Indeed – Volunteering Excellence) Award is a way to honor those volunteers who have contributed an extraordinary level of dedication and shown exceptional service to Samaritan while consistently demonstrating the organization’s HEART values, which are Honest, Empathetic, Accountable, Respect, and Trustworthy.
Why HIVE? The beehive is symbolic of teamwork, unity, growth, and development. At Samaritan, we are all caregivers, including those who have committed to showing extraordinary compassionate care as a volunteer. We need each other to care for our community.
The HIVE Award complements the existing DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses®, the BEE Award (Being Excellent Every Day) honoring other outstanding staff members who support patient care, at the hospital and all outpatient clinics, and the OWL (Outstanding Workers in Long Term Care) for the team of caregivers at the Samaritan Keep Home and Samaritan Summit Village. Altogether, we recognize the amazing caregivers of the Samaritan Health System and the culture we embrace.
The recipient for the third quarter of 2024 is Olivia Rappel. Olivia is a volunteer with Samaritan’s Employee Health team in the Human Resources department.
A Samaritan Caregiver of the Employee Health team nominated Rappel saying, “Olivia has been helping our team for the last five months and has been such an incredible asset to our departments. She is kind, sincere and conscientious and her attention to detail allows us to give her different tasks with minimal instruction. We all enjoy having Olivia around as she has such a positive attitude and will go out of her way to help where needed.”
Those interested in recognizing a Samaritan volunteer may submit an online nomination at samaritanhealth.com/hive there are also paper nomination forms available at the Medical Center and Samaritan Summit Village gift shops.
Pictured here is Olivia Rappel, HIVE Award recipient at Samaritan Medical Center for the third quarter of 2024.
Watertown, NY – Samaritan Medical Center is pleased to announce its outstanding workers in long term care (OWL) Award recipients for October 2024.
Samaritan Summit Village Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) Rachel Hughes, and Samaritan Keep Home Certified Nursing Assistant Megan Catlin won the OWL Award for their respective facilities.
Hughes was nominated for the OWL Award by a family member of a Samaritan Summit Village resident who said:
“Rachel is so welcoming, and she shows my loved one great care. Knowing Rachel is there for my loved one is a true blessing.”
Catlin was nominated for the OWL Award by Samaritan Keep Home Director of Nursing, Megan Larkins, with the following statement for nomination:
“Megan is kind and compassionate. She cares for our residents as if they are her own family. She goes above and beyond to provide safe, quality care to all our residents. She is patient and gentle when she cares for our vulnerable residents with dementia and Alzheimer’s. Megan always comes to work with a smile on her face and greets our residents with a warm welcome to Samaritan Keep Home.”
Hughes and Catlin were presented with certificates and tokens of appreciation during recognition ceremonies at their respective facilities.
These 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 Samaritan DAISY, BEE, and OWL Awards, visit www.samaritanhealth.com/daisy-bee.
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Pictured here, from left to right, are October 2024 OWL awardees Rachel Hughes, CNA, and Megan Catlin, CNA.
About Samaritan’s Long Term Care Services Caregivers at Samaritan Summit Village and Samaritan Keep Home provide round-the-clock skilled nursing care and significant assistance with the activities of daily life. Nursing homes have nursing staff on duty 24 hours a day to help individuals meet their daily physical, social and psychological needs. A licensed physician supervises each resident’s care and therapy, including speech, occupational, and physical therapy are available to provide rehabilitation services. Samaritan Summit Village also offers Assisted Living with six neighborhoods and apartments that are comfortable, functional, and safe. This facility is for those who need a little extra help while continuing an independent lifestyle.
Watertown, NY – Samaritan Medical Center is pleased to announce its DAISY, and BEE Award recipients for October 2024. The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses® recognizes exemplary nursing staff, and the BEE Award honors other outstanding staff members for being excellent every day, both at the hospital and outpatient clinics.
Kristin Navarra, a Registered Nurse (RN) and critical care clinical nurse educator of Samaritan Medical Center’s Intensive Care Unit, received the DAISY Award. Bobbie McKnight a Nursing Assistant (NA) of Samaritan Medical Center’s Four Pavilion Unit, received the BEE Award.
Samaritan Medical Center’s Manager of Education Development Emily Soderquist nominated Navarra for the DAISY Award saying:
“I am consistently impressed with her organization, empathetic nature, and most obvious- compassion that she has for the nursing field. She is a realist; she knows what the nursing team needs and anticipates their challenges and helps her team prepare for them. She is an empath, understanding the challenges of everyday life as a nurse, and helps her team to make the time to learn new things that will improve their knowledge of patient care. She is a teammate, always looking out for the other educators, thinking of ways to help all – not only those that she works directly with. She is a learner, not only can she share her knowledge better than most people I know, but she is also always striving to learn as well.”
For receiving the DAISY Award – which is an international award backed by The DAISY Foundation – Navarra was presented with 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 has also been installed in the Healing Gardens at Samaritan Medical Center in honor of all DAISY and BEE Award winners to come. It was purchased using funds donated by the Samaritan Auxiliary.
McKnight was nominated for the BEE Award by Joyce James, a Registered Nurse (RN) on Samaritan’s Four Pavilion Unit, saying:
“One of Bobbie’s greatest strengths is how she manages our behavioral patients waiting for placement. She is frequently able to get them to participate in personal care and calm them down when nobody else can. She treats this patient population with the utmost dignity and respect as she would one of her own family members. She gains trust with our patients and makes them feel safe.”
McKnight was presented with a certificate, a BEE Award pin, and a gift bag with other tokens of gratitude.
These 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 Samaritan DAISY, and BEE Awards, visit www.samaritanhealth.com/daisy-bee.
Pictured here, from left to right, are October 2024 awardees Kristin Navarra, RN, critical care clinical nurse educator, and Bobbie McKnight, NA, Samaritan Medical Center’s Four Pavilion Unit.
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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 The DAISY Foundation
The DAISY Foundation is a not-for-profit organization, established in memory of J. Patrick Barnes, by members of his family. Patrick died at the age of 33 in late 1999 from complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), a little known but not uncommon auto-immune disease. (DAISY is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System.) The care Patrick and his family received from nurses while he was ill inspired this unique means of thanking nurses for making a profound difference in the lives of their patients and patient families. In addition to the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses, the Foundation expresses gratitude to the nursing profession internationally in over 3,900 healthcare facilities and schools of nursing with recognition of direct care Nurses, Nurse-led Teams, Nurse Leaders, Nursing Faculty, Nursing Students, through the J. Patrick Barnes Grants for Nursing Research and Evidence-Based Practice Projects and for nurses participating in medical missions. More information is available at http://www.DAISYfoundation.org.
Watertown, NY – Samaritan Medical Center is pleased to announce its outstanding workers in long term care (OWL) Award recipients for September 2024. Samaritan Summit Village Physical Therapist Prodyut Das, and Samaritan Keep Home Unit Clerk Zelina Collier won the OWL Award for their respective facilities.
Das was nominated for the OWL Award by a family member of a Samaritan Summit Village resident who said:
“Das showed wonderful patience and compassion for my loved one. They always joked with one another and that made my loved one smile. Das is a model employee and relates well to his patients.”
Collier was nominated for the OWL Award by Samaritan Keep Home Assistant Director of Nursing, Kerri Pellam, with the following statement for nomination:
“Zelina has a strong work ethic and positive attitude. She is patient and kind and shows great compassion. I have witnessed her balance a very tasking job, have difficult conversations with families and go above and beyond for our residents, the staff and their families. She makes relationships and helps where she can. All her coworkers are thankful for her.”
Das and Collier were presented with certificates and tokens of appreciation during recognition ceremonies at their respective facilities.
These 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 Samaritan DAISY, BEE, and OWL Awards, visit www.samaritanhealth.com/daisy-bee.
Pictured here, from left to right, are September 2024 OWL awardees Prodyut Das, physical therapist, and Zelina Collier, unit clerk.
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About Samaritan’s Long Term Care Services
Caregivers at Samaritan Summit Village and Samaritan Keep Home provide round-the-clock skilled nursing care and significant assistance with the activities of daily life. Nursing homes have nursing staff on duty 24 hours a day to help individuals meet their daily physical, social and psychological needs. A licensed physician supervises each resident’s care and therapy, including speech, occupational, and physical therapy are available to provide rehabilitation services. Samaritan Summit Village also offers Assisted Living with six neighborhoods and apartments that are comfortable, functional, and safe. This facility is for those who need a little extra help while continuing an independent lifestyle.
Watertown, NY – Most of Samaritan’s clinics, family health centers, and medical offices will be closed during the Thanksgiving holiday, November 28 and 29, 2024.
Lab and X-ray services will be open at Samaritan Medical Center, via the registration entrance from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Samaritan reminds you not to drink and drive, and wash your hands. If you are feeling sick, avoid in-person gathering and follow transmission precautions, such as the use of a mask.
Watertown, N.Y. – Samaritan recognized and welcomed eleven new physicians at its annual New Physician Reception, held November 7, 2024, at Samaritan Summit Village. The reception honored physicians who have joined Samaritan’s medical staff in the last 12 months.
This annual event is an opportunity to introduce the newest members of our Medical Staff to the community. Attendance included area physicians, Samaritan board members, local business and community leaders, hospital donors and Samaritan leadership.
The physician guests of honor included:
Basel Al-Haddad, MD – Hospitalist
Natasha Antony, MD – OB/GYN*
Nauman Hamid, MD – Pulmonology/Critical Care
Kevin Kriesel, MD – Otolaryngology
Kamran Mahfooz, MD – Hospitalist
Emily Pierce, MD – OB/GYN*
Russell Reeves, MD – Interventional Radiology
Diane Shumbusho, MD – OB/GYN
Jane Simpson, DO – Palliative Care
Philip Witek, MD – Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
Jasmin Zvornicanin, MD – Hospitalist
Also recognized this year were fifteen new advanced practice providers (APP). APPs are highly trained medical professionals who care for patients under the supervision of a physician.
The advanced practice providers recognized included:
Amanda Agley, PA-C – Dermatology
Erin Birchenough, FNP-C – Nephrology
Christine Buckley, FNP-C – Family Medicine
Gary Clarkson, PA-C – Wound Care
Aiesha Clayton, PA-C – Family Medicine
Tasha Curry, FNP-C – Cardiology
Amber Haynes, FNP-C – Family Medicine
Brittany Heflin, FNP-C – Emergency Medicine
Aparajita Naik, ANP-C – Internal Medicine
Inez Quinones, PA-C – Emergency Medicine
Jennifer Ring, ANP-C – Family Medicine
Cele Schulz, ANP-C – Geriatric Medicine
Fakira Soumaila-Borkovec, FNP-C – OB/GYN
Kalie Sposato, PA-C – Family Medicine
Juan Woods, PA-C – Orthopedic Surgery*
* Military
Physicians L-R: Kamran Mahfooz, MD; Natasha Antony, MD; Kevin Kriesel, MD; Emily Pierce, MD; Russell Reeves, MD; Diane Shumbusho, MD; Jane Simpson, DO; Jasmin Zvornicanin, MD. Not pictured are Basel Al-Haddad, MD; Nauman Hamid, MD; and Philip Witek, MDAdvanced Practice Providers L-R: Amanda Agley, PA-C; Erin Birchenough, FNP-C; Tasha Curry, FNP-C; Amber Haynes, FNP-C; Jennifer Ring, ANP-C; Fakira Soumaila-Borkovec, FNP-C; Not pictured are Christine Buckley, FNP-C; Gary Clarkson, PA-C; Aiesha Clayton, PA-C; Brittany Heflin, FNP-C; Aparajita Naik, ANP-C; Inez Quinones, PA-C; Cele Schulz, ANP-C; Kalie Sposato, PA-C; Juan Woods, PA-C.
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