Category: News

At this time most Samaritan clinics, offices, and services are open and seeing patients as planned during this weather event.

All outpatient labs, testing services, and imaging scans through the hospital’s Registration area will close at 4:30 p.m. to patients. 

Plastic Surgery is closing at 12:00 p.m. today

The following clinics are closing at 2:00 p.m. today:
Cardiology
Dermatology
Dermatology – Adams
Gastroenterology
General Surgery
Lab & Imaging on Coffeen Street in Watertown
Orthopedics
Pain Management
Pulmonary
Women’s Wellness & Breast Care
Watertown Health & Wellness Plaza Family Health Center (Primary Care, Lab & Imaging, SMART, etc.)
Wound Care

Samaritan Rheumatology is closed today (01/17/24) and patients will be called and rescheduled.

The following clinics will remain open until normal business hours:
Ear, Nose & Throat
LeRay Family Practice
Cape Vincent Family Health Center
Clayton Family Health Center
Adams Family Health Center
Urology

If patients have any questions or are unable to come to an appointment today due to weather, please call the office directly.

Update – Thursday, January 11, 2024, 6:52 a.m. –

Samaritan locations have had power restored and will see patients as scheduled:
Samaritan Medical Center (hospital – this includes the surgical services and all outpatient appointments), Walker Center for Cancer Care, Watertown Health and Wellness Plaza.  
Samaritan anticipates all services at all locations will be open today and if issues arise, Samaritan staff will contact scheduled patients. As always, the Emergency Department is open 24/7. Please visit our website for updates. Thank you for your patience as our community navigates this situation. 

Update – Thursday, January 11, 2024 5:32 a.m. –
Power has been restored at the Medical Center and the Walker Center for Cancer Care. All patient appointments and surgical and outpatient procedures will be as planned for the day.

Update 2:29 pm – The Health and Wellness Plaza lab and imaging services will be closing at 4:00 p.m. on January 10, 2024.

Many Samaritan locations are running on generator power at this time due to the weather and power loss. In order to assess the situation and prepare accordingly, we are delaying patient outpatient appointments at many offices and clinics until 9:00 a.m. today.  If you were scheduled for an appointment before 9:00 a.m. you will be contacted to reschedule.

This includes lab and imaging/radiology appointments.  Walk-in lab draws will be available at the main hospital. Patients may call the radiology scheduling team at 315-779-5200 with any questions.

All surgical and outpatient procedures at the hospital are also delayed until 9:00 a.m.  Patients have been attempted to be reached, but we encourage them to call Samaritan Surgical Services at 315-454-2311.

Updated notice for the Walker Center for Cancer Care, as of 10:59 a.m. on January 10, 2024: Walker Center for Cancer Care patients: We are experiencing further delays as the power has not been restored yet.  Please do not come in for your scheduled appointment until you are called by a team member.  Our phone systems are not fully operational, so please wait for a call from us.

(Original notice: The Walker Center for Cancer Care appointments and treatments are delayed until 10:00 a.m.  Patients will be contacted if they need to be.)

The Brain Injury Support Group meeting scheduled for January 10, 2024 is canceled.

There is a chance some offices may need to close for the day. Please check our website for further details.

If patients have any questions or concerns, please call the offices directly. We appreciate your patience during this weather-related event.

This does impact the following outpatient offices and clinics:
Cardiology, Dermatology, Ear, Nose and Throat, Gastroenterology, General Surgery, Orthopedics, Pulmonology, Pain Management, Plastic Surgery, all Primary Care offices (Adams, Clayton, Cape Vincent, LeRay, Watertown), Pulmonology, Rheumatology, SMART Clinic, Urology, Women’s Wellness and Breast Care, and the Wound Care Center. This includes the Health and Wellness Plaza in Watertown, Coffeen Street Lab/Imaging and all imaging and lab services at these locations.

The expanded Blue Distinction^® Centers for Maternity Care Program aims to provide patients with higher-quality care, with a goal of reducing preventable or treatable pregnancy-related complications.

WATERTOWN, NY – Samaritan Medical Center has been designated as a Blue Distinction Centers+ for Maternity Care by Excellus BlueCross BlueShield (BCBS) as part of the Blue Distinction Specialty Care program.

The Blue Distinction Centers for Maternity Care program plays a key role in the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association’s (BCBSA) National Health Equity Strategy aimed at reducing racial health disparities across the care spectrum and improving patient outcomes for all Americans.

Based on data from the current designation cycle, facilities designated under the Maternity Care program demonstrate higher-quality care compared to non-Blue Distinction Center facilities, with overall average rates of 26% lower episiotomies, 60% fewer elective deliveries and 17% lower cesarean births—all of which point to healthier outcomes for patients.

“We are pleased that Samaritan has once again earned the Excellus BlueCross Blue Shield designation as a Blue Distinction Center+ for Maternity Care,” said Courtney Emmerich, director, Car-Freshner Center for Women and Children. “Samaritan first earned this designation in 2016 and is very proud to continually uphold it.  Each year families of the civilian and military community place their trust in us to provide high quality maternity care. With some of the most experienced and compassionate caregivers, we are able to offer the exceptional level of care that our patients deserve.”

Blue Distinction Designation Offerings:

Facilities that meet the program’s selection criteria are eligible for designation at one of two levels:

• Blue Distinction Centers (BDC): recognizes health care facilities that deliver quality care, safely and effectively.
• Blue Distinction Centers+ (BDC+): recognizes health care facilities that deliver quality care, safely and effectively, in addition to demonstrating more affordable care. BDC+ designated facilities also exhibit an average savings of 21% for maternity care, according to a recent program survey.

“Congratulations to the team at Samaritan Medical Center on achieving this important quality recognition,” said Eve Van de Wal, Excellus BlueCross BlueShield Utica regional president. “The Blue Distinction designation is one more tool to help members make informed decisions about their health care, allowing them to be assured that the facility has met specific benchmarks”

Commitment to Maternity Care:

Severe maternal morbidity rates are on the rise among all pregnant women in the United States, which has the highest maternal mortality rate than any developed country. Moreover, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than white women. These disparities are unacceptable and demand immediate attention.

BCBSA is committed to reducing racial disparities in maternal health and has executed a multi-year National Health Equity Strategy to achieve this goal. To align with this strategy, the Blue Distinction Centers for Maternity Care program enhanced its quality and measurement standards to recognize higher-quality facilities that have taken action to respond effectively to obstetric emergencies, reduce racial disparities, and improve maternal health outcomes.

The Blue Distinction Centers for Maternity Care program’s selection criteria was devised to close clinical care gaps and reduce inequities that persist throughout the maternal care spectrum. The selection criteria includes components of BCBSA’s Maternal Health Equity Actions, which dismantle the cultural, operational and structural barriers that created inequities in maternal care.

To be designated under this program, each applicant facility was evaluated on a combination of objective data on patient outcomes as well as the practices implemented to reduce racial disparities and improve maternal health outcomes, such as:

• Using evidence-based best practices to respond effectively to obstetric emergencies
• Offering unconscious bias training
• Participating in the regional Perinatal Quality Collaborative
• Having doula support available on the maternity care team
• Collecting race, ethnicity and language data
• Having a program dedicated to quality improvements in maternal care
• Running drills and simulations to prepare providers are prepared to deal with a range of obstetric emergencies
• Demonstrating health outcomes that exceed the selection criteria from our program’s previous evaluation cycle

To further drive improvements to maternal care, BCBSA will be working closely with Excellus BCBS to encourage facilities to implement performance improvement activities that will enhance their maternity care programs and improve patient outcomes.

“It is time to raise the bar. Everyonedeserves to have higher-quality care at every stage of their pregnancy,” said Erin Barney, BCBSA’s vice president of Network Solutions. “Facilities that earned a Blue Distinction Centers for Maternity Care designation have proven that they deliver higher-quality maternity care and are committed to reducing maternal health disparities that are often treatable and preventable. Closing clinical care gaps is a joint effort, and we are proud to recognize facilities that put insights into action, creating a more equitable system of health for all.”

Since 2006, the Blue Distinction Specialty Care program has helped patients find quality specialty care at lower costs in the areas of bariatric surgery, cancer care, cardiac care, cellular immunotherapy, fertility care, gene therapy, knee and hip replacement, maternity care, spine surgery, substance use treatment and recovery, and transplants, while encouraging health care professionals to improve the care they deliver.

For more information about the program and for a complete listing of the designated providers, visit our website.

All companies and trademarks listed above are the property of their respective owners and used for identification purposes only and are in no way associated or affiliated with the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. Use of these trademarks does not imply endorsement. The Blue Cross^® and Blue Shield^® names and symbols and Blue Distinction^® are registered trademarks of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.

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 BlusCross 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 4,200 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.

About the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association
The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association is a national federation of independent, community-based and locally operated Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies that collectively provide health care coverage for one in three Americans. BCBSA provides health care insights through The Health of America Report series and the national BCBS Health Index^SM. For more information on BCBSA and its member companies, please visit bcbs.com.

About Blue Distinction Centers
Blue Distinction Centers (BDC) met overall quality measures, developed with input from the medical community. A Local Blue Plan may require additional criteria for providers located in its own service area; for details, contact your Local Blue Plan. Blue Distinction Centers+ (BDC+) also met cost measures that address consumers’ need for affordable healthcare. Each provider’s cost of care is evaluated using data from its Local Blue Plan. Providers in CA, ID, NY, PA, and WA may lie in two Local Blue Plans’ areas, resulting in two evaluations for cost of care; and their own Local Blue Plans decide whether one or both cost of care evaluation(s) must meet BDC+ national criteria. National criteria for BDC and BDC+ are displayed on www.bcbs.com. Individual outcomes may vary. For details on a provider’s in-network status or your own policy’s coverage, contact your Local Blue Plan and ask your provider before making an appointment. Neither Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association nor any Blue Plans are responsible for noncovered charges or other losses or damages resulting from Blue Distinction or other provider finder information or care received from Blue Distinction or other providers.

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WATERTOWN, NY – At Samaritan, we have 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, 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 HEART values, which are Honest, Empathetic, Accountable, Respectful, 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® and the BEE Award (Being Excellent Every Day) honoring other outstanding staff members who support patient care, at the hospital and all outpatient clinics. Altogether, we recognize the amazing caregivers of the Samaritan Health System and the culture we embrace.

The inaugural recipient of the HIVE Award is Mary Martuzas. Mary served as an employee of the Samaritan Auxiliary operated gift shops before stepping into a volunteer role. Mary has consistently demonstrated the HEART values throughout her time as a volunteer.  Mary volunteers in the gift shop at Samaritan Summit Village two days a week.  She has held this volunteer position since the gift shop re-opened after closing due to the COVID-19 pandemic.   

Manager of Volunteer Services Amanda Bradbury said, “Mary goes above and beyond, getting to know each of the residents that frequent the gift shop, knowing their likes and dislikes and always ensuring the gift shop has what the residents need and want.  Mary recognizes that many residents do not have the opportunity to shop outside of the facility so she works hard to make sure the gift shop is well stocked for those residents with items that are affordable.  Mary is on a first name basis not only with the residents but with the staff that shop the gift shop, as well.  Mary always greets residents with a smile, a warm welcome and a helping hand making sure they feel happy and valued with their interaction.”

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. 

Watertown, N.Y. – Samaritan recognized and welcomed twelve new physicians at its annual New Physician Reception, held Tuesday, November 14. The reception honors those physicians who have joined the medical staff in the last 12 months. The event, held at Samaritan Summit Village, included area physicians, Samaritan board members, local business and community leaders, hospital donors and staff.

Physician recruitment continues to be difficult in rural healthcare. Samaritan is fortunate to be able to continue successful recruitment of highly qualified physicians to the area because of our strong healthcare system and dedicated recruitment efforts.

This annual event is an opportunity to introduce the newest members of our Medical Staff to the medical community. The guests of honor included:

• Emmanuel Addo-Yobo, MD, Pulmonary/Critical Care
• Vincent Cotroneo, MD, Radiology
• Stephanie Daniel, MD, Pediatrics
• Lynsey Daniels, MD, General Surgery
• Kyle Klahs, DO, Orthopedic Surgery (military)
• David Leu, MD, Orthopedic Surgery
• G. Michael Maresca, MD, Radiology
• Jonathan Marshall, DO, Radiology
• Bailey Moorhead-Beardsley, DMD, Oral Surgery (military)
• Nnenna Onwumere, MD, Hospitalist
• Nicholas Qandah, DO, Neurosurgery
• Farah Wani, MD, Family Medicine

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There is an uptick in COVID positivity cases at the hospital among inpatients and emergency department patients, as well in the community overall. Following our Infection Prevention source control policy, Samaritan Medical Center (the hospital), including the Walker Center for Cancer Care, will now require facemasks in all patient care areas and public spaces within the hospital.  Long term care remain masks-required. 

This does not impact Samaritan’s outpatient locations including specialty clinics, family health centers or lab and imaging locations.

Thank you for your patience as we try to minimize the spread of the virus and keep our patients, visitors and staff protected.

Any further updates to this change will be added to samaritanhealth.com/news.

Watertown, NY – The 23rd Annual Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) Radiothon was held November 1-3, 2023 and raised over $120,000 to help children throughout the North Country. 

Each year, Community Broadcasters’ stations The Border 106.7 and 94 Rock fill the airwaves with extraordinary stories of courage and hope from local CMN children and their families. These families open up to listeners about their children’s health challenges and explain how the program has helped them.

DJs Johnny Spezzano and Lance Hale spent the three days asking listeners to make a donation to help sick and injured children. James Leven, President of Community Broadcasters, said “It’s so gratifying that our team led by Johnny and Lancer have once again raised so much to help the kids and families of CMN.  Great job, North Country!”

“The generosity of our community is inspiring.” said Angie VanWormer, Children’s Miracle Network Director, Samaritan Medical Center. “Thanks to the donations we received, CMN will be able to help even more children in need.”

Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals uses every dollar raised locally to support pediatric equipment and projects at Samaritan Medical Center. In addition, CMN of Northern New York provides direct financial assistance to families living in Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties with a child facing a medical crisis for travel expenses and other out-of-pocket medical costs.

For more information on Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals contact Samaritan Medical Center at 315-785-4053 or [email protected]

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Watertown, NY – Samaritan Medical Center is in the process of applying for Level III Adult Trauma Center Designation through the New York State Department of Health.  As part of this initiative, we are prepared to treat and stabilize trauma patients effectively and Samaritan aims to take a community approach to injury prevention.

November 18, 2023, is National Injury Prevention Day, also termed “Shine a Green Light” day, and many healthcare facilities nationwide are bringing attention to the incidents that can lead to unnecessary injuries.

Injuries and violence are the leading causes of death and disabilities for people from age one to 44 years old. Advocacy organizations like Injury Free Coalition for Kids®, Safe Kids Worldwide, Safe States Alliance, the American Trauma Society, the American Academy of Pediatrics, BeSMART, a division of Everytown for Gun Safety, the Society for Advancement of Violence and Injury Research, the Trauma Centers of America Association and JPMA Cares a division of the Juvenile Products and Manufacturers Association are part of the coalition to bring awareness to the cause.

Samaritan appreciates the City of Watertown for their Proclamation of November 18, 2023, in the City as Injury Prevention Day. 

Samaritan has had almost 1,000 patients present with preventable injuries through the Emergency Department this year.  Awareness and education are key for community members to make better choices and to prevent injuries. “We are grateful for the support the City of Watertown has shown to our community education effort,” states Dr. Daniel Bryden, General Surgeon and Chief of the Trauma Program at Samaritan.  “Our team has been working on this designation and are fully prepared to care for local patients.  Outside of the clinical needs, community education is key; prevention is key. Acknowledging and celebrating this Injury Prevention Day is the start of our public outreach efforts.”

There are many ways to prevent injuries, but there are significant areas of focus such as: All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV) safety, daycare safety, fire safety, firearm injury prevention, home safety, motor vehicle safety, playground safety, poison prevention, safe teen driving, sports injury prevention, water safety, and wheeled sports safety.  Each of these areas outline specific ways to reduce injuries and be safe. Learn more at https://injuryfree.org/

On average, Samaritan’s Emergency Department has over 30,000 patient visits each year.