coldwell banker cb - Watertown Daily Times

PROGRESS 2008
WATERTOWN DAILY TIMES Sunday,March Day,Month Date,Year 2,2008 15 C5
Hospitals see physician recruiting as important to success
FROM PAGE 4
“SUNY Canton has been a
godsend, to have an RN program
in one of our hometowns,”
Mr. Acker said. “It’s a wonderful
resource, and we hire a significant
number of graduates every
year. The challenge is getting
them here and experienced.”
CLAXTON-HEPBURN MEDICAL CENTER
“Throughout the year, Claxton-Hepburn
introduced new
services to the north country,
making the medical center the
first to provide patients with cutting
edge treatments,” states a
release from the Ogdensburg
hospital. “The dedication and
talents of its staff and physicians,
an ambitious board, the
support of generous donors and
its volunteers have make Claxton-Hepburn
an exceptional
healthcare facility.”
The facility has opened a
wound healing center in partnership
with the National Healing
Corp. in Florida. “This is the
only wound healing center in
the area offering the community
state-of-the-art specialized
wound healing care,” the release
states.
The hospital also began management
of the Madrid Health
Center, and, in December, the
radiology department began offering
PET/CT scanning.
Also, in November, the Winter
Cancer Treatment Center was
granted three-year approval
with commendation from the
Commission on Cancer of the
American College of Surgeons,
making it the only center within
100 miles of Ogdensburg with
that distinction.
And the medical center and
all its properties became tobacco-free
Nov. 15.
The hospital in 2007 also recruited
six new doctors — a pediatrician,
nephrologist, hospitalist,
psychiatrist, pain management
specialist and orthopedist
— along with a nurse practitioner.
The hospital is in the midst of
a $9.9 million “Building a Better
Tomorrow” building project. A
new outpatient ambulatory surgery
unit, enlarged and enhanced
radiology department
and patient registration have already
been completed, while
new mental health and ob/gyn
units are slated to open this
spring.
A 5,000-square-foot addition
on the medical center’s Physician
and Imaging Building in
Canton is also to be completed
this spring.
MASSENA
MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
“Physician recruiting is a key
element to the hospital’s success,”
states a press release from
the town-owned facility.
A pair of obstetrician/gynecologists
and an otolaryngologist
joined the medical staff last
year, and the hospital is now recruiting
several new physicians,
including a nephrologist, primary
care doctors and an additional
otolaryngologist.
Over the past several years,
Massena Memorial Hospital
completed $15 million in capital
improvements to the hospital
and outpatient clinics. They included
a 21,000-square-foot expansion
of its main building,
renovations to the hospital’s
third floor for a new veterans
clinic, new equipment in its
medical imaging department
and construction of an outpatient
dialysis center on Route
420.
“The past six years have been
excellent for the hospital financially,”
Charles F. Fahd II, Massena
Memorial’s chief executive
officer, said in a statement. “This
makes a good base for the hospital
to be able to strategic plan for
new construction and maybe
add new services needed for the
community we serve.”
The hospital has received
state Department of Health approval
for a proposed $2.5 million
“northwest project,” which
includes expansion of the medical
imaging area — with a fixed
MRI unit and nuclear medicine
— and birthing center and addition
of classroom and storage
space. Planned savings from
WATERTOWN DAILY TIMES
Jim D. Rounds, a Samaritan Medical Center construction worker, mounts equipment on a wall in a new minor treatment area last year.
strategic projects are expected
to cover the project costs, Mr.
Fahd said.
The hospital’s three-year-old
dialysis center now has more
than 30 patients. “We are very
pleased with the progress of the
dialysis service we can offer to
the patients in our community,
in fact the clinic has expanded to
six days with a 18 percent increase
of patient treatments,”
Mr. Fahd said.
EDWARD JOHN NOBLE HOSPITAL
“Physician recruitment is a
continuous process,” Administrator
Charles P. Conole said.
The Gouverneur hospital last
year added five doctors: two
family practitioners and a pediatrician,
general surgeon and internalist.
They were essentially
recruited to replace doctors, recruited
in the 1990s, who moved
to other facilities, Mr. Conole
said.
“People are just more ambulatory
today,” he said. “They relocate.”
Mr. Conole is considering the
addition of a second ob/gyn for
the hospital’s growing maternity
department and a general surgeon
to cover for one that is out
with coronary problems. The
hospital may also try to increase
orthopedic coverage, which is
now provided on a part-time basis,
he said.
E.J. Noble plans to commence
a $9.7 million expansion and
renovation project in late spring
or early summer. It will include a
two-story, 33,000-square-foot
addition to the hospital’s west
side. The basement will include
the pharmacy, physical and respiratory
therapy and other support
services. All patient beds,
except for the hospital’s four obstetrical
beds, will move to the
first floor of the new building, allowing
other departments to be
expanded.
“Primarily, we’re looking to
give adequate space to the lab
and radiology,” Mr. Conole said.
The project will also bring
1952 contruction “up to 2008
standards,” he said.
The hospital recently completed
construction of a new
clinic in Antwerp and installation
of a $20,000 copper-silver
ionization system to eliminate
bacteria from its warm and hot
water, with both projects aided
by grant funding. “We’ve had
good success with grants,” Mr.
Conole said.
The hospital is also looking to
start a clinic in Russell this year.
“We’re working hard to keep
moving forward,” Mr. Conole
said. “I think, overall, it’s been a
good but challenging year for
the hospital.”
CLIFTON-FINE HOSPITAL
The Star Lake hospital is hoping
that designation of its 20
beds as critical access, providing
higher reimbursement for services,
will improve its fiscal status.
The facility, which includes a
nine-bed nursing home and 11
hospital beds, in 2006 nearly
broke even but receives subsidies
from the towns of Clifton
and Fine.
It is also trying to recruit another
primary care physician to
ease the standby time of other
doctors. The additional doctor
would have a family practice
and help out in the emergency
room.
Times staff writers Alex Jacobs and
Martha Ellen contributed to this report.
v
BUSINESS UPDATE
v
Fuller Insurance Agency
stresses customer service
CARTHAGE — Fuller Insurance
Agency, Inc., 110 S. School
St., is in its second generation of
family ownership and its 28th
year of serving Northern New
York. In 2007, the agency was
named Professional Service Business
of the Year by the Carthage
Area Chamber of Commerce.
“We’re in business to provide
a service, not just a product,”
Aaron Fuller said. “We expect
the same level of service from
our company partners knowing
that they represent us as much
as we represent them.”
In 1980, Wilfred T. (Bill) Fuller,
a life insurance salesman,
formed Fuller Insurance. In
1987, the full service insurance
agency began offering products
for personal and commercial
customers. The agency now
serves all of Northern New York
from Lake Ontario to Lake
Champlain, and reaches as far
south as Syracuse and Utica. Today,
the agency has offices in
Canton, Carthage, and Malone
with 14 employees with an average
tenure of more than 10 years.
After the death of the agency’s
founder, sons Aaron F. and
Adam J. Fuller continue to operate
the agency. “We take pride in
our involvement in the community,
and the fact that we are an
insurance agency with local
people, and local knowledge,”
Adam Fuller said. “When you
call any of our agencies, you
speak to a person and not some
recording.”
As an independent insurance
agency, Fuller represents
dozens of insurance companies.
“We will work to do our very
best to find the right product
that meets their needs,” Adam
Fuller said. “They don’t have to
make dozens of phone calls to
compare. We can do it for them.
And if there is a claim, we will be
there to help make it as painless
as possible.”
Over the last few years, the
Fort Drum housing boom has
seen the agency focusing on the
expanding housing market.
“We’ve built a name for ourselves
serving new homeowners
and those investing in rental
properties,” Adam Fuller said.
“We’ll continue to serve the
needs of homeowners, but also
focus on insuring recreational
products. Outdoor recreation is
becoming more and more popular
with lifelong residents and
new residents courtesy of Fort
Drum. It’s also an expensive
hobby that often requires significant
investment that needs insurance
protection.”
For more information call
493-2110.
Chrysler LLC lost $2.7b
after sale to equity firm
DETROIT — Chrysler LLC
lost about $2.7 billion in the two
months after Daimler AG sold
controlling interest in the U.S.
automaker to a New York private
equity firm, Daimler said in its
recently-issued annual report.
The figure, for the period
from Aug. 4, 2007 to Sept. 30,
was calculated under international
financial reporting standards
used in Europe and not
under U.S. accounting standards,
Daimler said.
The net loss also includes
about $466 million in expenses
incurred in the fourth quarter of
last year, including Chrysler restructuring
costs and costs related
to a new four-year contract
with the United Auto Workers.
Swedish retail giant IKEA
names NYC store manager
CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa. —
IKEA, the world’s leading home
furnishings retailer, has announced
the appointment of
Mike Baker as store manager for
its future Brooklyn store opening
Summer 2008 in the Red
Hook area of Brooklyn. It will be
the Swedish company’s first
store in New York City, fourth in
the New York-New Jersey area,
and 35th in the U.S.
“We are very excited about
opening our first store in New
York City, where there are many
existing IKEA customers, as well
as new customers, who are anxious
for us to open,” said IKEA
North America president
Pernille Lopez.
Safeway to cut 400 jobs
nationwide, sources say
PLEASANTON, Calif. — Safeway
Inc. has decided to eliminate
hundreds of jobs nationwide,
sources and government
filings disclosed.
Pleasanton-based Safeway
confirmed the staff reductions
Feb. 27. Spokesman Brian
Dowling, though, would not
provide a specific number for
the job cuts.
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