ER Inspector SAMARITAN MEDICAL CENTERSAMARITAN MEDICAL CENTER

ER Inspector

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Updated September 19, 2019

This database was last updated in September 2019. It should only be used as a historical snapshot.Researchers can find more recent data on timely and effective care in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ hospitals datasets and guidance about hospital regulations.

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ER Inspector » New York » SAMARITAN MEDICAL CENTER

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SAMARITAN MEDICAL CENTER

830 washington street, watertown, N.Y. 13601

(315) 785-4121

61% of Patients Would "Definitely Recommend" this Hospital
(N.Y. Avg: 66%)

4 violations related to ER care since 2015

Hospital Type

Acute Care Hospitals

Hospital Owner

Voluntary non-profit - Private

ER Volume

High (40K - 60K patients a year)

See this hospital's CMS profile page or inspection reports.

Patient Pathways Through This ER

After a patient arrives at the emergency room, they are typically seen by a doctor or medical practitioner and then either sent home or admitted to the hospital and taken to a room. A small percentage of patients leave without being seen. The chart below shows on average how long each of these pathways take. Lower numbers are better, and all times refer to the average length of time people waited.

Arrives at ER
4% of patients leave without being seen
7hrs 9min Admitted to hospital
10hrs 19min Taken to room
2hrs 49min Sent home

All wait times are average.

Detailed Quality Measures

Here is a more in depth look at each quality measure, compared to state and national averages for hospitals with high ER volumes. Experts caution that very small differences between hospitals for a given measure are unlikely to correspond to noticeable differences in the real world.

Measure
Average for this Hospital
How this Hospital Compares

(to other hospitals with similar
ER volumes, when available)

Discharged Patients
Time Until Sent Home

Average time patients spent in the emergency room before being sent home (if not admitted).

2hrs 49min
National Avg.
2hrs 42min
N.Y. Avg.
3hrs 4min
This Hospital
2hrs 49min
Impatient Patients
Left Without
Being Seen

Percentage of patients who left the emergency room without being seen by a doctor or medical practitioner.

4%
Avg. U.S. Hospital
2%
Avg. N.Y. Hospital
2%
This Hospital
4%
Admitted Patients
Time Before Admission

Average time patients spent in the emergency room before being admitted to the hospital.

7hrs 9min

Data submitted were based on a sample of cases/patients.

National Avg.
5hrs 4min
N.Y. Avg.
6hrs 31min
This Hospital
7hrs 9min
Admitted Patients
Transfer Time

Among patients admitted, additional time they spent waiting before being taken to their room (sometimes referred to as "boarding time.")

3hrs 10min

Data submitted were based on a sample of cases/patients.

National Avg.
2hrs 2min
N.Y. Avg.
3hrs
This Hospital
3hrs 10min
Special Patients
CT Scan

Percentage of patients who arrived with stroke symptoms and did not receive brain scan results within 45 mins.

18%
National Avg.
27%
N.Y. Avg.
26%
This Hospital
18%

Violations Related to ER Care

Problems found in emergency rooms at this hospital since 2015, as identified during the investigation of a complaint. About This Data →

Violation
Full Text
COMPLIANCE WITH 489.24

Jun 4, 2015

Based on findings from document review and interview, the facility failed to comply with the requirements for 489.24 and the related requirements of 489.20.

See More ↓

Based on findings from document review and interview, the facility failed to comply with the requirements for 489.24 and the related requirements of 489.20. Findings include: -- Please see specific findings under Tags A2403, A2406 and A2409.

See Less ↑
HOSPITAL MUST MAINTAIN RECORDS

Jun 4, 2015

Based on findings from document review, medical record (MR) review and interview, the hospital did not retain a complete and accurate MR for Patient A.

See More ↓

Based on findings from document review, medical record (MR) review and interview, the hospital did not retain a complete and accurate MR for Patient A. Specifically, Patient A eloped from the emergency department (ED) and his/her electronic MR (EMR) was deleted then recreated. Findings include: -- On 6/2/15 at 9:30 am, review of the "Emergency Department Sign-In Log" revealed Patient A (MDS) dated [DATE] at 9:07 pm. Review of the EMR, for Patient A, supplied by the hospital on [DATE] at 10:25 am, revealed Patient A (MDS) dated [DATE] at 9:15 pm. The next EMR entry indicates that on 5/18/15 at 2:39 am the patient had eloped and at 2:45 am that the patient left the ED. This EMR contained no further documentation. -- During interview with Staff #1 on 6/2/15 at 10:20 am, when queried as to why information in Patient A's EMR was inconsistent, Staff #1 revealed Patient A's initial EMR was deleted so the EMR was recreated.

See Less ↑
MEDICAL SCREENING EXAM

Jun 4, 2015

Based on findings from document review, medical record (MR) review and interview, the hospital failed to ensure that a patient (Patient A) had a medical screening exam (MSE) after he/she jumped from the 4th floor level of a parking garage on the hospital campus and sustained obvious injuries.

See More ↓

Based on findings from document review, medical record (MR) review and interview, the hospital failed to ensure that a patient (Patient A) had a medical screening exam (MSE) after he/she jumped from the 4th floor level of a parking garage on the hospital campus and sustained obvious injuries. Staff (Staff #3, #4, #5, #6), even though trained in EMTALA, lacked knowledge of EMTALA regulations and did not respond appropriately to this injured patient. Findings include: -- Per interview with Staff #3 on 6/3/15 at 8:00 am, Patient A jumped from the ledge on the 4th floor of the parking garage. Patient A was found on the ground with obvious deformity of a leg and arm and was talking/moaning in pain. -- Per interview of Staff #6 on 6/3/15 at 11:15 am, upon seeing Patient A sitting on the parking garage ledge, he/she called 911 and the Nursing Supervisor (Staff #4). -- Per interview with Staff #4 on 6/3/15 at 9:00 am, when he/she arrived to the injured patient (Patient A) he/she instructed staff not to touch the patient as they did not have the necessary training and the best way to care for the patient was for EMS to provide the care. Staff #4 also indicated (even though trained in EMTALA per review of education files) that the hospital campus is considered 250 feet from main entrance instead of 250 yards from hospital. -- Per interview with Staff #5 on 6/2/15 at 2:20 pm, someone called into the ED and asked the ED physician (Staff #5) to assess Patient A's wrist for vascular stability. Staff #5 indicated he/she performed a cursory assessment of Patient A in the ambulance. Staff #5 did not order blood tests, x-rays or other tests to determine if Patient A had additional injuries. Staff #5 did not document the assessment in a MR. -- Per review of the hospital's 2015 EMTALA mandatory education on 6/2/15 at 8:00 am, Staff #3, #4, #5, and #6, all completed 2015 EMTALA training on 1/11/15.

See Less ↑
APPROPRIATE TRANSFER

Jun 4, 2015

Based on findings from interview, the facility failed to effect an appropriate transfer to another medical facility.

See More ↓

Based on findings from interview, the facility failed to effect an appropriate transfer to another medical facility. Findings include: -- Per interview with Staff #5 (emergency department physician) on 6/2/15 at 2:20 pm, when questioned, he/she indicated a certification, based upon the information available at the time of transfer, that the medical benefits of transfer to another medical facility outweighed the increased risks to Patient A was not signed. Staff #5 also acknowledged the hospital did not determine if the receiving facility had available space and qualified personnel for the treatment of the individual and that they agreed to accept transfer of the individual. Staff #5 also acknowledged the hospital did not send (to the receiving facility) any medical record information and the hospital did not obtain consent for transfer of Patient A from his/her legally responsible person acting on his/her behalf and inform them of the risk of transfer.

See Less ↑
Notes

“Average time” refers to the median wait time (the midpoint of all patients' wait times). References to “doctor or medical practitioner” indicate a doctor, nurse practitioner or physician's assistant. CMS reports the CT scan quality measure as the percentage of patients who received a scan within 45 minutes. We have reversed that measure so that all measures follow a “lower is better” pattern.

Additional design and development by Mike Tigas and Sisi Wei.

Sources

All data comes from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Detailed quality measures at the hospital, state and national level were last updated September 2019. Most data was collected between October 2017 and October 2018. Data on ER-related violations is from January 2015 to June 2019.

Additional Info

How We've Updated ER Inspector | Download ProPublica's Emergency Room Planning Toolkit | About This Data

Don’t See Your ER?

In some cases we aren’t able to identify the exact location of a hospital, so it doesn’t appear on our mapped search results. However, it may still be in our database – try looking for it in the list of hospitals on each state's page.

In other cases, the hospital is missing from our database because it doesn't have an emergency department.

In other cases, the hospital is missing from the federal government’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) data. There are a couple of reasons why a hospital isn’t included in CMS data: it may not participate in Medicare, or it may share a certification number with another hospital (common across large hospital systems).

If you notice a hospital missing from our database, please first check if you can find it on CMS' website, and that it is listed as having an ER. If so, please email us with the hospital name and address.