Syracuse Medical Malpractice Lawyer Blog

According to the Watertown Daily Times, in early May of 2009 Massena Memorial Hospital, located in Massena, New York, will open two updated maternity units. Massena Memorial Hospital is located approximately 2 hours northeast of Watertown, New York, and just over 1 hour northeast of Alexandria Bay, New York.

The new maternity unit includes four new maternity rooms. At the present time, two of the four rooms are in operation. The new maternity rooms will enable pregnant mothers to remain in the same room from admission through labor, birth, recovery and until discharge. The hospital will no longer have to move mothers from room-to-room depending upon the stage of labor, which should reduce the possibility for harm to the mother or unborn baby due to a labor complication occurring during transfer and, in turn, decrease the possibility of medical malpractice and birth injuries.

In the new unit, a baby will stay in the same room with the mother unless the baby needs special attention. Equipment necessary to care for a newborn is cleverly hidden in the rooms behind cabinets. The rooms have been decorated like hotel rooms, which should make for a more pleasant hospital stay.
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The New York State Department of Health recently designated Faxton-St. Luke’s Healthcare as one of New York State’s 115 “Primary Stroke Centers” and the only stroke center in the Mohawk Valley.

A stroke is a medical emergency that is as serious as a heart attack. As many as 2,000,000 brain cells die every second that a stroke goes undiagnosed. Lost brain cells equal lost body function. The best treatment for a stroke is the administration of t-PA (tissue plasminogen activator) within three hours of the stroke. Where a stroke is not treated within three hours of onset – whether because a patient does not go to the emergency department or because a patient’s symptoms are not diagnosed by a doctor – options to limit stroke damage are more limited’

Faxton-St. Luke’s Healthcare was awarded the Stroke Center designation because the hospital met NYSDOH standards, including the appropriate equipment, trained nurses and physicians, and procedures in place to diagnose individuals with stroke signs and symptoms within 60 minutes of presentation to the emergency department.

April is nurse practitioner month in the State of New York. A nurse practitioner is a nurse with a Master’s Degree, who can associate with a doctor an provide primary medical care, including the prescription of medications. Nurse Practitioners are an invaluable resource to the medical profession, as they permit family medicine physicians to provide medical care to more of the Central New York population, and decrease instances of medical malpractice.

At the present time, a New York nurse practitioner must “collaborate” with a physician. A bill currently before the New York State legislature would enable nearly 13,00 New York nurse practitioners to practice without a “collaborating physician.” In 14 other states around the county, collaboration between a nurse practitioner and a doctor is not required.

While independently operating nurse practitioners will increase access to medical care, the absence of supervision by and/or collaboration with a physician may also lead to an increase in medical malpractice, such as misdiagnosis and failures to diagnose.
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According to Cathy Barry, M.D., an obstetrician/gynecologist (OBGYN), of Cathy J. Barry, M.D., & Associates, in Syracuse, New York, pregnancy causes expected and unexpected changes to a woman’s body.

Most of the changes are due to hormones. More unusual changes include feet that grow or flatten during pregnancy, as well as swelling and weight gain. Swelling and excessive weight gain may also be a sign of preeclampsia or gestational diabetes which, if left undiagnosed due to medical malpractice, can cause severe and permanent injury to a pregnant mother.

Other unusual changes include skin tags, or the growth of new polyps of skin in areas where skin rubs against skin, or where skin rubs against clothing. Skin tags are not moles. Moles that develop during pregnancy should be evaluated by a doctor as they could be melanoma which, if left undiagnosed due to medical malpractice, could lead to metastatic cancer and death.

Further unusual changes include stuffy, bloody or bigger noses, dark spots on a woman’s face, vision changes, and forgetfulness (“pregnancy amnesia” or “baby brain”). Cravings are also common; however, not to eat food but, instead, to eat things like laundry detergent, dryer sheets and clay. Unusual cravings may be a sign of missing essential nutrients, such as iron, and should be discussed with a doctor to prevent harm to you or your unborn baby.

According to Dr. Barry, “[i]f you have a change and you’re not sure if its good or bad, you should always call your doctor.”
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University Hospital, located in Syracuse, New York, recently announced that it will soon begin using the Calypso cancer treatment system to aid in cancer treatment. Calypso works by locating electromagnetic chips implanted before treatment, which enables more accurate and precise radiation and limits damage to surrounding tissue and organs. Calypso was designed initially for the treatment of prostate cancer, but it may also be used to treatment of other cancers involving moving organs.
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The New York Times recently reported that University Hospital “is not a good hospital.” We disagree. Medical mistakes happen, and do not make a hospital “good” or “bad.” According to the article, in 2006, patients at University Hospital were three times more likely to develop infections when compared to the average New York State hospital.

The complete New York Times article can be found here.
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St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center located in Syracuse, New York, recently began using disposable blood pressure cuffs manufactured by Skaneateles-based Welch Allyn, in order to reduce the risk of infection. St. Joseph’s is the first hospital in Upstate New York to make the switch to the “Flexiport,” which should streamline the manner in which hospitals measure vital signs, increase efficiency, and decrease incidents of hospital negligence and medical malpractice.

In the usual case, a hospital will have on hand many different size blood pressure cuffs that are connected through a maze of tubes to a manual or electronic blood pressure device. When checking blood pressure, a nurse or doctor would have to search for the right size cuff in order to check pressure. With the Flexiport system, each admitted patient will be issued a cuff with his or her name on it which, through a patented connector, can be attached to any blood pressure device in the hospital. Personalized cuffs will minimize the spread of bacteria between patients.

Blood pressure is the amount of pressure that blood exerts on the walls of arteries. High blood pressure can be a sign of heart disease or an impending heart attack. Low blood pressure can be a sign of hemorrhaging, internal bleeding, or septic shock.
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The building formerly occupied by The Hartford Financial Services Group has been sold to St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center for $3,400,000. According to the Utica Observer Dispatch, upon receipt of approval from the New York State Department of Health, the building will undergo extensive renovations, including space for an urgent care facility, physician office space, physical therapy operations, rehabilitative therapy operations, and on outpatient care and radiology program.

The St. Elizabeth’s urgent care facility is the fifth such facility slated for the Mohawk Valley. Already open include an urgent care center at the Faxton campus of Faxton-St. Luke’s Healthcare, an urgent care center at Slocum-Dickson, Independent Physicians Urgent Care and Ridge Mills Medical Center Urgent Care.

Urgent care facilities provide important services to Utica-area residents needing treatment for non-life threatening injuries, including abdominal pain, foreign objects in the eye, fractures, minor injuries, sore throat, stitches and x-rays. You should go directly to an emergency room if you have suffered amputation of a body part, have a very high fever, are choking, have been electrocutes, have an open or displaced fracture, have lost consciousness, are in labor, or are suffering from a stroke or heart attack.
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On February 24, 2009, Elliot Cohen, M.D., a Watertown, New York doctor who specializes in obstetrics and gynecology had his license suspended for three months by the New York State Department of Health Office of Professional Medical Conduct (“OPMC”). OPMC concluded that Dr. Cohen “committed professional misconduct by prescribing medications over the internet to persons the respondent never examined.”

The suspension followed OPMC’s review of the Watertown doctor’s prescription of Viagra, Levitra and amoxicillin to a company in North Carolina. Dr. Cohen charged a fee for the medications.
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