The number of trips made to New York City emergency rooms increased 0.6% in 2007, to nearly 2.7 million, according to new data from the United Hospital Fund. The slight uptick was far less than increases of 2.9% in 2006 and 2.2% in 2005, according to the June edition of the group’s Hospital Watch report.

Meanwhile, the average length of stay at hospitals fell slightly in 2007, to 6.19 days, from 6.23 days in 2006, the report said. Overall, operating margins for private hospitals were 1.2% in 2006, up from 0% in 2005 and -1.2% in 2004.

19 Columbia Scientists Receive Grants For Psychiatric Research

Nineteen scientists at Columbia University Medical Center have been awarded $60,000 grants to research psychiatric disorders.

The researchers received Young Investigator Awards from the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression, the medical center announced. They will pursue research on conditions such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, childhood mental health disorders, and other conditions.

St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Appoints COO

St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital has named a former unit nurse and surveyor for the Joint Commission, Timothy Day, executive vice president and chief operating officer.

Mr. Day, who was a surveyor between 1997 and 2007, has held various administrative positions at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt. Most recently, he served as senior vice president for administration. Between 1982 and 1987, he was the assistant nursing care coordinator in the department of medicine.

“Tim’s early years as a unit nurse provided him with valuable, hands-on experience and a clinical practitioner’s approach to problem solving,” the hospital’s president and chief executive officer, Frank Cracolici, said in a statement.

St. Luke’s-Roosevelt is part of the Continuum Health Partners hospital network, which also includes Beth Israel Medical Center and Long Island College Hospital.

esolomont@nysun.com