It’s a medical arms race of sorts in Saratoga County, with three hospitals vying to put a satellite emergency department in the Clifton Park/Halfmoon area and Malta. Ellis Medicine and Seton Health have both submitted a certificate of need to the Department of Health for a free-standing emergency department in Clifton Park, and Saratoga Hospital submitted a certificate of need for a free-standing emergency department at Exit 12 in Malta, according to the DOHs public affairs group.
If approved and given the go-ahead, Ellis Medicine would be creating the first satellite emergency care center of its kind in the Capital District, and, according to Ellis Medicine CEO James Connolly, would improve access to emergency care and bring it closer to residents in southern Saratoga County. He said the full-service emergency department would be a 12-bed facility, open 24/7, staffed completely by Ellis emergency medicine experts and cost $3 million.
Clifton Park/Halfmoon is one of the most densely populated areas in the state without immediate emergency department access, and Ellis is the primary provider of care for that community, said Connolly, who stated that depending on traffic, it takes about 10 to 15 minutes to travel to Ellis from that region. `We’re not aware of any situation where a patient has died because of travel time, but we’ve met with the DOH, and what it’s not giving credence to is that there’s such thing as pain relief. If someone has a fractured leg or arm, that additional 15 minutes will be a painful ride. And there’s also a degree of reassurance in the community that they don’t have to go far for emergency care. Having to travel 15 minutes to get to a patient and then turning around to come back [to Ellis] can be disruptive.`
Connolly emphasized that what Ellis Medicine has heard from residents in the area of Clifton Park/Halfmoon via surveys conducted through Siena College and at town meetings, is that there is a general desire for immediate access to emergency services because residents are concerned about receiving care if they were to have a heart attack at the mall or get seriously sick at home. He said Ellis is trying to address what the community communicates it needs and that it’s up to the DOH to recognize the need.
`The DOH has to be convinced that there is a real need for an emergency department in that community. I’m sure it’s concerned with a proliferation of these requests and other hospitals requesting this type of service across the state, so it’s being careful about determining need,` said Connolly. `We’ve been trying to work with them to make the case that there is a need based on it being a fast growing area and underserved regarding access and distance.`
Clifton Park Town Supervisor Phil Barrett said he is hopeful that the DOH will see the `tremendous amount of support` for a facility like this and approve Ellis’ proposal so the project can move forward.
`We’re very pleased at the prospect of partnering with an institution like Ellis. The facility would provide wonderful healthcare services to the people of Clifton Park and southern Saratoga County and absolutely increase the level of service they deserve,` said Barrett.
According to the DOH, certificates of need are reviewed by set criteria before being approved or denied: public need, financial feasibility, character and competence and construction. Connolly said he believes Ellis Medicine would be the provider to best run a satellite emergency department.
`Our first argument that we would best meet this need is that a) we’re closest, b) EMS squads already come to us, c) we’re already the major care provider for this area and d) we’re a full service hospital. Other hospitals don’t have stroke or cardiac centers and we do; I think the argument is pretty obvious,` said Connolly.
Connolly said that Ellis Medicine has been talking to Seton Health and Saratoga Hospital about such emergency departments since the beginning of 2009. He said that when he submitted Ellis’ proposal, he informed the two other hospitals, who in turn subsequently submitted their proposals for their own satellite emergency departments in areas of southern Saratoga County. Town of Halfmoon Supervisor Mindy Wormuth said that while she thinks Ellis would do a fine job running a satellite emergency department, she’s open to other hospitals taking the reins.
`Increased medical services, especially emergency, are very much needed in the southern end of Saratoga County. Halfmoon is one of the fastest-growing towns in the state and will continue to see such growth continue; there’s also a large amount of aging population already here that use those services on a more often basis. It would be a definite benefit to the community,` said Wormuth. `I know of other hospitals that have expressed an interest in locating in our end of Saratoga County, so while we think Ellis could do a good job, there’s probably other hospitals who could do just as good a job. Our goal is to see this type of service provided in this area.`
Town of Malta Supervisor Paul Sausville said he would be pleased to have a satellite emergency department in the region, should Saratoga Hospital’s certificate of need be approved.
`We’re delighted that urgent care would be closer to the population; it would certainly be a very convenient spot, right at the intersection of Route 9 and Route 67, so very easy to access from points west, north and south,` said Sausville, who stated that this satellite emergency department would be just one component of what he said is Saratoga Hospital’s plan to build an extensive medical arts center in the Malta area over the next 20 years. `The other thing is that we would be able to have a helicopter landing pad here, so people could be brought into this facility and also brought to others from this particular site. An ambulance core has already been working with Saratoga Hospital and meeting transportation needs, so having this service right here would make our town complete.`
Connolly said that Ellis would be able to provide a satellite emergency department to the Clifton Park/Halfmoon area in a cost effective way, by reallocating services regionally.
`We had two existing emergency departments in Schenectady about a mile and a half apart; but we don’t need two full service emergency rooms so close together. We proposed building a larger facility at Ellis to consolidate the two down to one and making the other a walk-in. We would just be relocating to where there’s a need for service instead of duplicating,` Connolly said.
In a phone call on Tuesday with Vice President for Planning and Communications at Seton Health, Pamela Rehak, she said she was not ready to comment.
None of the three submitted certificates of need have been approved or rejected by the DOH as of Wednesday, Dec. 2.
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