Children’s Miracle Network at Samaritan Awards $399,152 to Help Local Kids

Watertown, New York — In 2019, Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals (CMN) of Northern New York at Samaritan Medical Center awarded $399,152 to benefit local kids in Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties. All of this is possible with the generous support of the local community, our corporate partners, and the hospital’s commitment to Children’s Miracle Network.

One-hundred percent of the funds raised in the North Country stay local to help children in a medical crisis and their families. Samaritan Medical Center ensures this by covering all overhead expenses of this special program. The funds raised are utilized in two important ways:

  • Direct Assistance to Families: CMN at Samaritan is one of the only CMN-affiliated hospitals that provides direct assistance to families of children facing a medical crisis. This includes assistance with medical bills, reimbursement for travel expenses (mileage, lodging, meals, etc.), adaptable equipment, and most recently, the training of service dogs. The application process is simple and is based on need rather than income.
  • Capital Equipment Purchases: When children are hospitalized or need treatment, oftentimes specialized equipment is needed to treat or test children and adolescents. Requests are made from child-centered areas of Samaritan Medical Center, such as pediatrics, labor and delivery, neonatal intensive care unit, and the emergency department.

The CMN Allocations Committee meets on a quarterly basis to review requests for assistance from families and capital equipment. The committee comprises representatives from local partner organizations, such as Kinney Drugs, Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club; physicians and staff from Samaritan; and local media partners, WWTI ABC 50 and The Border 106.7.

So far in 2019, CMN used a total of $113,435 to help 74 children and their families with medical expenses; disbursed $100,000 of its ten-year one million dollar pledge to the Car-Freshner Center for Women and Children; and purchased $185,717 worth of critical pediatric equipment for child-centered areas of the hospital, including:

  • Rapid Infuser fluid warmer in the Emergency Department to save lives by quickly replacing blood loss or fluid volume
  • New physiological monitoring system that monitors all patients and their vital signs in our 12-bed Level II Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)
  • New transport incubator when newborns needs to be transferred to a higher level of care within Samaritan Medical Center
  • Pediatric IV Arm and Pump simulator sets for nursing education purposes

The Allocations Committee first meeting of 2020 is scheduled for February 26, 2020.

For more information, contact Kristin LaClair, Director of Children’s Miracle Network at Samaritan Medical Center, at 315-785-4053 or [email protected].

Car-Freshner Donates to Center for Women and Children

Watertown, New York — The Samaritan Medical Center Foundation today announced a significant donation from Car-Freshner Corporation to help fund the Center for Women and Children. In recognition for the company’s support, Samaritan also announced that it will rename the Center the “Car-Freshner Center for Women and Children.”

The Center opened in August 2019 after the 3rd floor of the Pratt building at the Samaritan Medical Center was transformed into a facility for women and children. All women and labor services are now on the same floor as pediatrics, keeping more than 100 staff members close to their patients. A key feature is a new entrance for expectant moms on the Sherman Street side of the building. The center also includes a new labor and delivery area, with larger delivery rooms, and 2 special delivery rooms for C-sections.

“Quality health care is essential for this community, which is why we are happy to support Samaritan,” said Elizabeth Tracy of Car-Freshner. “We know this Center will help many families, and are honored by Samaritan’s decision to re-name it.”

“Samaritan is fortunate to have a strong, successful company like Car-Freshner located in Northern New York,” said Thomas H. Carman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Samaritan. “We are very grateful for their commitment to ensuring that our entire North Country community has access to high quality care locally.”

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About Car-Freshner
Car-Freshner was founded in Watertown in 1952. It is known primarily for the iconic Little Trees air fresheners, made in Watertown and exported around the world. Its global headquarters are also located in the community. For more information, visit littletrees.com.

About Samaritan Medical Center
Samaritan Medical Center 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 serves the medical needs of our civilian and military community. For more information, visit samaritanhealth.com

Samaritan Opens New Women’s Wellness and Breast Care Location

Samaritan Opens New Women’s Wellness and Breast Care Location

Samaritan Medical Center (SMC) has opened its new Women’s Wellness and Breast Care location as of Monday, November 25. An official ribbon cutting and open house event was held November 13 to introduce it to the community and highlight the exclusivity of the new location.

Tom Carman, President and CEO of Samaritan; Dr. Jonathan Oliva, Department Chair of OB/GYN; Dr. Jan Turcotte, SMC Board of Trustees Chair; and City of Watertown Mayor Joe Butler Jr. all spoke at the event, recognizing the impact the facility will have on patients, providers, and the broader community. Speakers also thanked New York State for its support of the project. Samaritan received a $9.8 million Statewide Health Care Facility Transformation Program (SHCFTP) grant to help make this project possible.

The Women’s Wellness and Breast Care location will consolidate services and providers from Woman to Woman, 1575 Washington St., A Woman’s Perspective OB/GYN and Summit Lab and Imaging Center, both at 22567 Summit Drive. These three sites have closed in their current locations.

Located in the Samaritan Health and Wellness Plaza, 1575 Washington St., the new location is unlike anything in this area. It combines many services and offers new ones to make the most of a patient’s appointment and time.

The Women’s Wellness and Breast Care office offers the following services and more:

  • Obstetric care for all your pregnancy needs, including high-risk pregnancy care
  • Gynecology services, including annual exams, fertility, robotics and surgical procedures
  • Full breast (imaging) services, including ultrasounds, dense breast imaging, mammography and stereotactic
  • Radiologist and breast surgeon on site
  • 3D/4D ultrasound services
  • Bone density scanning
  • Lab and x-ray services
  • Genetic Cancer Screening services through our partner, Cancer IQ

The addition of a breast surgeon to Samaritan’s medical staff will allow a population of women who previously had to travel for their care to receive it close to home. When speaking about the importance of the facility, Dr. Jan Turcotte stated: “Today it is gratifying to be here as a retired breast surgeon, as an advocate for improved care for women’s health needs, as a woman, and as President of the Samaritan Medical Center Board of Trustees to participate in the opening of the Women’s Wellness and Breast Care. The Center is another great addition to the array of services (both existing but improved and brand new to us) that Samaritan Medical Center is offering our community.”

The project included renovation of 16,000 square feet of existing space, and the addition of an 11,000-square-foot entry corridor for the entire Health & Wellness Plaza. Construction was completed by SLAM Architects, Aubertine & Currier Architects, and Purcell Construction.

At the open house event, tours of the new facility were offered and staff were present to speak about the new location and services. More than 225 people attended the open house event.

Samaritan Announces Fully Accredited Diabetes Self-Management Education and Support (DSMES) Program

Samaritan Medical Center is pleased to announce the accreditation of its Diabetes Self-Management Education and Support (DSMES) Program through the American Academy of Diabetes Educators as of late October.

This educational program outlines support needed to implement and sustain the coping skills and behaviors patients need to self-manage their diabetes. Samaritan’s program is designed to address the patient’s health beliefs, cultural needs, current knowledge, physical limitations, emotional concerns, family support, financial status, medical history, health literacy, numeracy and other factors that influence each person’s ability to meet the challenges of self-management.

“People living with diabetes may spend approximately 30 to 60 minutes with their doctor annually,” said Teresa Intorcia, Samaritan’s Healthy Lifestyles Diabetes Self-Management Education Program Coordinator and Outpatient Dietitian/Certified Diabetes Educator. “Being able to provide 10 hours of education to patients living with diabetes – and their families – is priceless. It empowers patients to make daily self-management decisions and provide some of their own care.”

Samaritan has developed an evidenced-based program that meets the 10 National Standards of Care for Diabetes and is reimbursable through Medicaid, Medicare and/or other commercial insurance companies. Insurance coverage is critical to patients as they learn to control and maintain their diabetes.

Persons living with diabetes be referred to the DSMES program at these points in their chronic disease journey:

  • at initial diagnosis
  • annually for evaluation of education, nutrition, and emotional needs
  • when a new complication arises that influences self-management (change in health, physical abilities, psychological status, or basic living needs)
  • when transition occurs (newly living alone, change in cognition affecting self-care)

Research has proven that, with the completion of the 10 hours of DSMES, a person living with diabetes can achieve 1% reduction in Hemoglobin A1c. This metric is the three-month average of an individual’s blood sugar control, a 1% drop is significant because it reduces the risk of diabetes problems in the eyes, kidneys or nerves by 37%.

The DSMES Program is administered through Samaritan’s Healthy Lifestyles service, located at 1575 Washington Street in Watertown, within the Samaritan Health and Wellness Plaza.

Coffeen Street Lab and X-ray Center Closed for Walk-in Patients

UPDATED 11/20/2019 at 1:15 pm — The Coffeen St. Lab and X-ray Center is now fully functional.

The Samaritan Coffeen St. Lab and X-ray Center, located at 1213 Coffeen St., Watertown, is closed to walk-in patients due to internet connectivity issues. This does not impact Watertown Urgent Care patients. Please visit www.samaritanhealth.com for updates on when the location will be fully operational to all patients; it could be a few days.

If you have any questions, please call the Coffeen St. Lab and X-ray Center at 315-755-2140. Thank you for your patience.

Samaritan to Unveil New Women’s Wellness and Breast Care Location

Samaritan Medical Center will host a Ribbon Cutting and Open House at its new Women’s Wellness and Breast Care location from 4:00-7:00 PM on November 13th, 2019.

Located in the Samaritan Health and Wellness Plaza, 1575 Washington St., the new location is unlike anything in this area. It combines many services to make the most of a patient’s appointment and time.

When it officially opens in late November, the new Women’s Wellness and Breast Care office will offer the following services and more:

  • Obstetric care for all your pregnancy needs, including high-risk pregnancy care
  • Gynecology services, including annual exams, fertility, robotics and surgical procedures
  • Full breast (imaging) services, including ultrasounds, dense breast imaging, mammography and stereotactic
  • Radiologist and breast surgeon on site
  • 3D/4D ultrasound services
  • Bone density scanning
  • Lab and x-ray services
  • Genetic Cancer Screening services through our partner, Cancer IQ

The Women’s Wellness and Breast Care location will consolidate services and providers from Woman to Woman, 1575 Washington St., A Women’s Perspective OB/GYN and Summit Lab and Imaging Center, both at 22567 Summit Drive. These three sites will be closing in their current locations once Women’s Wellness and Breast Care opens.

Tours of the new facility will be available after remarks from stakeholders and the ribbon cutting. Members of the media are encouraged to attend, as photo/video opportunities will be available.

19th Annual Radiothon for Children’s Miracle Network Runs November 6-8

The Children’s Miracle Network of NNY’s 19th Annual Radiothon fundraiser will take place Wednesday, November 6 through Friday, November 8 from 6 am to 6 pm.

Each year, the Border 106.7/94 Rock CMN Radiothon fills the North Country airwaves with extraordinary stories of courage and hope from patients, families and staff at Samaritan Medical Center.

For three days, Border 106.7 DJ Johnny Spezzano and 94 Rock DJ Lance Hale will be live on-air asking listeners to pledge their support by making a one-time gift or becoming a “Miracle Maker” (a monthly donor).

This year’s Radiothon features seven new stories of kids helped by Children’s Miracle Network as they battle medical conditions. These kids include:

  • Annakat McConnell, 5 months, Adams Center
  • Benson Carr, 2, Adams Center
  • Brooklyn Newcombe, 19, Clayton
  • Everett James, Theresa
  • Owen Clarke, 2, Natural Bridge
  • Taygen Clark, 8, Norwood
  • Natalie Gondek, 2, Clayton

Since 2000, this annual event has raised more than $1 million. In 2018 alone, the Radiothon raised $110,447! Money raised from the event was used to purchase $176,000 in critical pediatric equipment for child-centered areas of Samaritan and more than $58,000 provided direct financial assistance to families of local children dealing with serious health issues through our Direct Financial Assistance Program – a program unique to Samaritan.

WAYS TO GIVE:

Please consider being a part of this year’s Radiothon. Together we can make miracles happen!

Samaritan Medical Center Runs Point of Dispensing (POD) Drill

Today, October 23, 2019, Samaritan Medical Center ran its annual Point of Dispensing (POD) Drill, practicing for a mass outbreak emergency while vaccinating hundreds of employees for the flu.

The drill, which began at 4:45 a.m. and continues through midnight, is conducted by Samaritan’s Employee Health Department and Emergency Management Committee. It brings together infection preventionists, resident physicians, medical students, and other Samaritan employees to practice and plan for an emergency that would require vaccines to be distributed quickly and efficiently to the community. Hospital employees – who, under NYS Public Health Law, must receive a flu shot or wear a surgical mask around patients during the influenza season – were able to get vaccinated for the flu during the drill.

“For the safety of our community, staff and patients, Samaritan must be ready for all scenarios,” said Karen Abare, Director of Infection Prevention and Control. “One way we do this is through drills, which allow us to test our policies and ensure everything runs smoothly. The start of the influenza vaccination season is a great opportunity for Samaritan to test this system and get as many employees as possible vaccinated at the same time.”

Roving vaccine carts were pushed through the hospital between 5:00 and 7:00 a.m. and from 10:30 p.m. to midnight, providing vaccines to staff who could not leave patient care areas. A vaccination hub was set up in the hospital’s Rotunda, allowing staff who could drop in to do so. Additionally, vaccination supplies were shipped to offsite locations, ensuring all staff were reached by the drill.

During last year’s POD Drill at Samaritan, more than 800 employees, volunteers, and medical staff were vaccinated. Totals from this year’s drill will not be available for a few days, but are expected to meet or exceed last year’s numbers.

“Each year we look for ways to improve and expand our outreach,” Abare said.

Samaritan reminds all patients that the best way to prevent the flu is to get your flu vaccine annually and practice good hand hygiene. Thousands of people in the U.S. die every year from the flu; in fact, an estimated 61,200 adults died from influenza in 2018-2019 flu season.

Samaritan Medical Center to Host “Shed the Meds” Drug Take-Back Event

Shed the Meds drug take back event

Samaritan Medical Center will host a community “Shed the Meds” Drug Take-Back event on Friday, October 25th.

While prescription drugs are a necessity for people, many homes have medicine cabinets full of prescriptions that are expired or no longer used. They can be a danger to people – especially children – and the environment if they are not properly disposed of. Samaritan is pleased to offer an event that helps remove these drugs from the home environment.

Staff from Samaritan Medical Center’s pharmacy and Jefferson County Sheriff’s deputies will be on-site to collect old or unused medications, including prescriptions, over-the-counter medicine, and syringes/sharps. Please remember to bring all sharps in a safe container.

The event is free and open to the public. It will take place in the main lobby of the hospital from 1:00-3:00 p.m. on Friday, October 25th.

At its last “Shed the Meds” event, held in June 2019, Samaritan collected approximately 143 pounds of medication.

For specific questions about the event please contact the Samaritan Medical Center Pharmacy at 315-785-4248.

Samaritan’s Walker Center for Cancer Care to Host ‘Shine a Light’ Event for Lung Cancer Awareness

WHAT: The local lung cancer community is coming together for the 11th annual Shine a Light on Lung Cancer event. Samaritan Medical Center’s Walker Center for Cancer Care will join an anticipated 200 cities where Shine a Lights will be taking place in healthcare facilities this November during Lung Cancer Awareness Month.

The event will feature remarks and a meet and greet with Joni Pitcher, Director of Oncology Services, and Dr. Vivian Keenan, Pulmonary and Critical Care Physician. A moment of silence for those lost to lung cancer will be observed, tours of the Walker Center for Cancer Care will be offered, and light refreshments will be provided.

WHEN: Thursday, November 14, 2019 from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m.

WHERE: Walker Center for Cancer Care, Samaritan Medical Center, 830 Washington St, Watertown, NY 13601

WHO: Samaritan Medical Center with GO2 Foundation for Lung Cancer (GO2), a patient advocacy and support non-profit organization based in Washington, DC and San Francisco, CA.

WHY: To bring hope, inspiration and support to the North Country lung cancer community. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States taking more lives annually than breast, prostate and colon cancers combined.

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