By Ali Munday
Compassionate, comprehensive care to women of all ages is the mission of Family Nurse Practitioners and Certified Nurse Practitioners of Malta, which opened in October.
The woman-owned and operated family practice is located in the Stewarts Corporate Plaza office complex on Route 9 in Ballston Spa. The business occupies 2,400 square feet, and comprises five examination rooms, a waiting room, and kitchen. Stewarts Shops is the landlord for the property.
Maggie Caiazza, APRN-BC, ANP, FNP and partner Kathy Murphy, CNM, have combined their extensive experience in women’s and family health care to offer primary care services and gynecological care, spanning the life cycle, from preadolescence to menopause.
Services include sick visits, preventative care, annual physical exams and pre-operative clearance for surgery. They provide diagnosis, medical treatment and preventative medicine for a wide variety of issues relating to women.
Caiazza and Murphy believe that through regular visits, checkups and exams, they can assist women in managing, overcoming and avoiding acute and chronic illness, disease, and injury. Patients can be referred to specialists as needed. Both are state licensed and have full prescriptive authority.
They plan to introduce obstetrical services in the future.
Caiazza, a Malta native, said the location was selected in part because of the steady growth of businesses in the area over the past decade. As an adult nurse practitioner/family nurse practitioner, she consults patients on a broad range of topics such as hypertension, diabetes, cholesterol management, osteoporosis, anxiety and depression, skin conditions, and thyroid disease.
In addition to in-hospital baby deliveries, certified nurse midwife Murphy oversees sexually transmitted disease (STD) testing and counseling, contraception, preconception, antepartum and post-partum care, in addition to attending in-hospital deliveries.
Caiazza said the difference between this practice and a traditional OB/GYN practice is the provision of primary care services, alongside the treatment of issues that are exclusive to women.
Murphy and Caiazza met when they first began their nursing careers, and worked together in a private practice after each returned to school to further their respective educations. Graduating from Columbia University with a master of science degree, Caiazza has almost three decades of health care experience. She is a nurse practitioner to adults and families, is nationally board certified, and specializes in acute and stable chronic conditions and gynecological care.
Murphy graduated from the Baystate Medical Nurse Midwifery School in Springfield, Mass., and is certified as a nurse midwife and first assistant. She brings more than two decades of experience in obstetrics and gynecology to her patients. She is certified in Mirena and Paraguard IUD insertions, and comprehensive colposcopy by the American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology.
The practice is open from Monday to Thursday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and on Friday 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Most insurance types are accepted. They are located at 2911 Route 9 (near Northway Exit 13S). They can be reached at 871-1105. More information is available online at fnpcnm.com.