Samaritan Health Announces Restructuring of Family Health Centers: Cape Vincent Clinic to Reopen April 1; Sackets Harbor and Lacona Clinics to Remain Closed
Published on: February 12, 2021
Operational changes to family health centers necessitated by financial impact of the coronavirus and reduced patient volumes
Watertown, N.Y. – Samaritan Health announced today the Cape Vincent Family Health Center will reopen to patients April 1, while the Sackets Harbor and Lacona clinics will remain closed due to financial constraints brought on by the COVID-19 crisis and the impact of lower patient volumes.
Samaritan will continue to provide care to former Sackets Harbor and Lacona clinic patients at the Adams, LeRay and Watertown family health centers, as these clinic locations have the capability and resources to accommodate Samaritan’s entire patient base in the area. All providers and staff from Sackets Harbor and Lacona have been transferred to the larger clinics.
The temporary closing of the Cape Vincent clinic, and the previous consolidation of the Sackets Harbor and Lacona family health centers into other existing, larger clinics was first announced in April 2020. Samaritan leadership reassessed the consolidation measures following the close of the 2020 fiscal year and determined permanent consolidation of Sackets Harbor and Lacona remained essential due to the ongoing negative impact of COVID-19 on finances in 2021. In 2020, Samaritan faced a significant revenue shortfall.
Cape Vincent patients, who previously were asked to travel to the nearby Clayton Family Health Center, are able to make appointments in advance of the clinic’s reopening by calling 315-654-2530.
“We are pleased to reopen the Cape Vincent Family Health Center and remain committed to the community and thankful for its support,” said Thomas H. Carman, president and chief executive officer of Samaritan Health. “It’s unfortunate the pandemic forced us to close the clinic temporarily, but we’re looking forward to resuming the local services the community has grown accustomed to.”
“While the closure of the Sackets Harbor and Lacona clinics is unfortunate, and we recognize the inconvenience this may cause, current patients have adapted well to traveling to Adams, Watertown or LeRay for primary care and to be seen by their trusted care team,” he said. “We’re pleased to continue to serve those communities at our other locations.”
All Samaritan family health center locations, including Cape Vincent, Adams, LeRay, Clayton and Watertown are accepting new patients. Prospective patients can call the center of their choice for more information and to make an appointment. Clinic addresses and phone numbers can be found here: https://samaritanhealth.com/location/family-health-centers/.