About Hospitals and Clinics in New York State

The New York State Department of Health is dedicated to ensuring quality health care in all of the State's health care facilities. We strive toward this goal by measuring the care rendered to patients in comparison to a code of rules and regulations which all facilities must follow. This code involves minimum standards of care which facilities are required to provide.

Any complaints against a hospital or clinic submitted to the Department regarding patient care or environmental concerns will be reviewed and a determination will be made whether the complaint will be investigated by Department staff.

The information on these web pages is presented to provide consumers with basic information on the hospitals and clinics of New York State. By identifying a region of the State, consumers can obtain information on the local State Department of Health office which oversees hospitals and clinics in that area. In selecting a specific county, hospitals and clinics located in that county are identified along with basic information on each of the hospitals and clinics (address, telephone number, certified number of beds, and teaching status). The PFI number that is provided on this and other web pages refers to the "Permanent Facility Identifier" - a unique number assigned to each hospital or clinic by the Department. Where the teaching status is noted as "Yes" this indicates those hospitals where post graduate year physicians (formerly referred to as interns and residents) are working under the supervision of a physician. If a hospital or clinic has provided the Department with a link to their own web site, that link is also provided on this web page. (Whenever the name of the hospital or clinic is underlined, a link to that facility's web site is available by "clicking" on the name.)

In accessing the Hospital and Clincs web page and the Complaint and Survey Information web page, the following information can be obtained:

  • Information contained on each hospital and clinc's Operating Certificate. The Operating Certificate, which is the license issued by this Department, contains information on the number of beds certified for the hospital by bed type and the specific services that are available at the hospital and/or clinc. The Operating Certificate also identifies any extension clinics operated by the hospital or clinc and the services that are available at these sites.
  • The number of complaint investigations completed by Department of Health staff during the previous year, the number of investigations which resulted in the issuance of Statement of Deficiencies (SOD), and the resulting percentage of complaints where a SOD was issued as compared to all complaint investigations. For comparative purposes, a percentage of complaints with SODs issued for that area of the State is also presented.
  • Where a SOD was issued following a complaint investigation, the date the SOD was issued, a summation of citations identified in that document, and the date when a Plan of Correction (POC) was accepted.
  • Information on Departmental survey activity which resulted in the issuance of a SOD. Where a SOD was issued following a survey, the date of the survey, type of the survey, a summation of citations identified, and the date when a POC was accepted are provided. If a survey was not conducted during this year, the date of the most recent survey is provided.
  • Information on Department investigations of reportable incidents which resulted in issuance of a SOD. Where a SOD was issued following an incident investigation, the date of SOD issuance, a summation of citations identified, and the date when a POC was accepted are provided.

The information provided on complaints, surveys and incidents identifies areas where the Department, as part of an inspection, identified problems with the hospital's operations, i.e., areas where the hospital was out of compliance with Departmental regulations. Tables which appear as blank indicate that there were no inspections that resulted in the identification of problem areas. The material presented on hospitals and clinics is not meant to indicate whether a hospital is better or worse than another hospital based on the number of areas for correction noted. hospitals and clinics vary greatly in areas such as size, bed capacity, number of patients using the facility, medical needs of the patients, and the complexity of services provided. The tables presented merely show the results of the Department's interaction with an institution where corrective action was initiated. The tables do not show the many and varied actions that hospitals and clinics take to enhance the level of service to their patients. As part of its oversight responsibilities, the Department works closely with all of the State's hospitals and clinics as they ensure the provision of high quality health care services.

The Department conducts various types of surveys of facilities including:

Focused survey the inspection is limited to a specific area(s) of operation.
Follow-up survey the inspection is limited to a review of an area previously identified as having problems.
Validation survey a federally requested survey to verify the validity of an accreditation survey.
PPS survey a federally requested inspection that verifies compliance with the requirements of the Prospective Payment System (PPS).
Swing Bed a federally requested inspection to justify the allocation of beds between various bed types.
ESRD survey the inspection verifies compliance with requirements covering End Stage Renal Dialysis (ESRD) programs.
Resident survey a survey to verify compliance with requirements covering post graduate year physician working hour limitations.
Allegation survey a federally requested survey based on a specific complaint.
Certification survey a federally requested survey of a non-accredited facility to verify compliance with federal standards.

The Department contracts with the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) to conduct routine surveys of facilities. The JCAHO conducts accreditation reviews of facilities on a three year cycle. Results of these accreditation surveys are provided to the Department.

How to File a Complaint Against a Hospital or a Diagnostic & Treatment Center (Clinic)

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Any consumers having questions or comments about the information presented can contact their local State Department of Health office or can contact the Department at the following address:https://apps.health.ny.gov/surveyd8/email-hospdtc