Samaritan to Host Dinner to Recognize Physicians: Dr. Sarah Delaney-Rowland to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award
Published on: March 5, 2026
Watertown, New York – Samaritan Medical Center will host its Physician Recognition Dinner on Thursday, April 2, 2026. The event, sponsored by the Samaritan Medical Center Medical Executive Committee and the Samaritan Foundation, takes place each year around and in celebration of National Doctors’ Day, honoring both active and retired physicians for their tireless dedication to the community. National Doctors’ Day is observed annually on March 30.
As part of the evening, one physician will be presented with the twelfth Lifetime Achievement Award, which recognizes a Samaritan doctor for their leadership and long-term service to the health and well-being of Northern New York. Whether through private practice, hospital duties, leadership roles on the Board or Medical Staff, or volunteer efforts, Samaritan physicians contribute their time and expertise to making the community a better place to live.
This year’s recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award is Dr. Sarah Delaney-Rowland, an emergency medicine physician, in recognition of her 22 years of outstanding service in Emergency Medicine at Samaritan Medical Center, distinguished by exceptional clinical expertise, compassionate leadership, and an unwavering commitment to patients, colleagues and the communities she serves.
Born and raised in Watertown, Dr. Delaney-Rowland received her medical degree from the State University of New York Health Science Center at Syracuse in 1997. She went on to complete a residency in emergency medicine at MetroHealth Medical Center/Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio. She is board certified by the American Board of Emergency Medicine. Following residency, Dr. Delaney-Rowland enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and began practice as an emergency medicine physician at Ehrling Bergquist Hospital, Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska. She was honorably discharged from the Air Force as a Major in July 2004. She then returned to her hometown of Watertown and joined the medical staff of Samaritan Medical Center through her employment with Emergency Medicine Consultants, PC. In 2008, she became an owner of that group which is now known as North Country Emergency Medicine Consultants, PC.
Dr. Sarah Delaney-Rowland has demonstrated longstanding leadership and service both within Samaritan Medical Center and throughout the region. She currently serves as Chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine, a role she has held since 2011. Hospital leadership roles include serving on the Medical Executive Committee and Emergency Department Management Committee. She also contributes to numerous hospital and regional committees focused on quality improvement, patient safety, infectious disease, trauma and stroke care, and emergency management. In addition, she serves as Medical Director for several area fire and ambulance services, further underscoring her dedication to emergency care both within the hospital and throughout the community.
Beyond the hospital, Dr. Delaney-Rowland is engaged in community service. She supports the Lyme community through fundraising and outreach efforts, coordinates donations to Project V.E.T.S. and Partners for World Health, and, alongside her husband, owns Elmwood Labradors, where they breed and train English Labradors. She is also active in pet therapy through Pet Partners and has specialized training in assisted animal crisis response, providing emotional support during times of crisis and disaster.
“In honor of Doctors’ Day, this event allows us to recognize and thank our physicians and to celebrate the essential role they play at Samaritan,” said Thomas H. Carman, president and CEO of Samaritan Medical Center. “Dr. Delaney-Rowland exemplifies the highest standards of patient care, leadership, and community service. Her dedication to emergency medicine, her colleagues, patients, and the community has had a profound and lasting impact on Samaritan and the region.
Dr. Delaney-Rowland is married to her high school sweetheart, Chris. Together they have four children – Christopher, Gwyneth, Madeleine, and Graham. She is the daughter of Michael and Lori Delaney.
The Physician Recognition Dinner will take place at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 2, 2026, at Samaritan Summit Village, 22691 Campus Drive, Watertown, NY. The event is open to the public. Tickets are $60 per person. For more information or to RSVP, please visit www.samaritanhealth.com/physiciandinner, or call 315-785-5745.
The Lifetime Achievement Award was established in 2013. Past recipients of this award include Dr. Jack Rush (2025); Dr. Karl Komar (2024); Dr. Maja Lundborg-Gray (2023); Dr. Jan Turcotte (2022); Dr. LaVerne VanDeWall (2019); Dr. Al Maloney (2018); Dr. John Poggi (2017); Dr. Collins F. Kellogg, Jr. (2016); Dr. David P. Rechlin (2015); Dr. David O. VanEenenaam (2014); Dr. Ronald G. Perciaccante (2013).
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