Category Archives: Healthcare

By Christine Graf

PA Medical Supply of Queensbury has opened a second location in the Wilton Mall next to JC Penney. Both stores carry an extensive selection of home medical equipment and soft good orthotics, boasting the largest showrooms and most extensive product selections in the area.

Established in 1995, PA Medical Supply was purchased by Lake George native Michael Gipson in July 2022. Prior to purchasing the business from John Bisceglia, Gipson spent more than a decade working in medical equipment sales.  

“I have been in the durable medical equipment industry for about 12 years,” he said. “I startedout on the manufacturer side, selling throughout New York state. I worked for one of the largest durable medical equipment manufacturers in the world.” 

After working his way up to regional manager for the Northeast, Gipson was promoted to vice president of sales for the company’s pediatric rehab division, a job that required extensive travel. 

“I  was traveling all over the country almost weekly, and my kids were getting to the age where school and sports were starting. I wanted to be able to stay closer to home,” he said. “I always knew I wanted to own my own business one day, and it got to the point where it was time to make a change.”

By Christine Graf

During the past decade, the number of board-certified physician assistants (PAs) has increased more than 75 percent, with more than 168,000 currently practicing in the field. Each year, PAs are responsible for more than 500 million patient interactions, collaborating with physicians and surgeons to diagnose and treat patients.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that the PA profession will increase 28 percent from 2021 to 2031. Currently, the demand for PAs is so high that 75 percent of graduates receive multiple job offers upon graduation.

In the late 1960s, Duke University established the country’s first physician assistant program. There are now 245 accredited programs in the United States, one of them at Albany Medical College where 42 PAs graduate each year from the 28-month program. Established in 1972, Albany Med’s PA program began as a collaboration with Hudson Valley Community College.

OrthoNY physician assistant James McGork III graduated from the Albany Med/Hudson Valley program, receiving his degree in 1998. A 1990 graduate of Mount Saint Mary’s College, he worked for Marriott Management Services before transitioning to health care. 

By Christine Graf

For more than 30 years, Malta-Stillwater EMS Executive Director Scott Skinner has been serving the local community, racing to the scenes of fires, accidents, and other emergencies. Skinner joined the Waterville Fire Department in 1993, and it was while there that he earned his Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) certification, later working his way up to become a paramedic. 

Appointed chief of the department in 2011, Skinner retired in 2014 after 21 years on the job. He joined the Round Lake Fire Department as a volunteer, and in 2018, he was hired as the executive director of the Malta-Stillwater EMS, a private, non-profit agency.

With stations in Malta and Stillwater, Malta-Stillwater EMS has 65 employees along with a dedicated crew of approximately 15 volunteers.  The agency’s staff is fairly evenly split between EMTs and paramedics.

“EMTs are trained at basic life support level. They do splinting, bandaging, oxygenation, CPR, and those types of things,” said Skinner. “Paramedics receive training that is heavier on cardiology and pharmacology. They also receive advanced airway and IV training.”

By Jill Nagy

HEBE Medical Spa will offer non-surgical medical treatments for face and skin. The facility is under construction at 28 Division Street in Saratoga Springs and expected to open in early July, according to co-owner and CEO Irina Damyanidu.

HEBE  has medical spas in Fishkill and Latham. 

Hebe, the company’s namesake, is the Greek goddess of eternal youth. Its treatments give the illusion of eternal youth with laser treatments, botox, facials, skin tightening, medical weight loss programs, hair restoration, and similar treatments.

Co-owner and medical director Dr. Zainad Ashraf is an internist also certified for cosmetic care. Known as “Dr.  Z,” she administers injectables, laser treatments, and other treatments that require medical certification. 

She received her bachelor’s degree from Binghampton University and her medical degree from the Ross University School of Medicine in Dominica. She did a residency at Winthrop Hospital in Mineola, N.Y. She is an internist at Vassar Hospital in Poughkeepsie in addition to her spa work. Most of the rest of the current staff are nurses or licensed medical aestheticians. 

By Susan Elise Campbell

Saratoga Hospital brought on a new CEO last fall, Jill Johnson VanKuren, who with the end of her first year approaching has expressed her goal to “protect the integrity of the hospital while advancing the future needs of the community.”

VanKuren left her position as COO of MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center in Baltimore to accept her first CEO role.

“I was looking for an opportunity more in line with a traditional community hospital,” she said. “Here in Saratoga, there is one hospital in the county and people live, work and play in the same area, so staff are truly committed to the community.”

Although Saratoga Hospital has been affiliated with Albany Medical Center since 2017, VanKuren said it is “right at the beginning of the journey” of joining forces with the Capital District’s top hospital system.

“I had been with MedStar since its early inception and helped facilitate its progress of becoming a larger system,” she said. “The relationship with Albany Medical Center and Saratoga Hospital forming as a system was a unique opportunity for me.”

In June 2013, Albany Medical Center and Saratoga Hospital entered a partnership to bring cutting-edge health care closer to the homes of Capital Region residents. 

The vision was to provide surgical, urgent, and specialty care outside the hospital and in a place that was more comfortable and convenient. Today, officials say Malta Med Emergent Care is a pivotal point of access to the broad scope of services throughout the Albany Med Health System, including those provided by the Bernard & Millie Duker Children’s Hospital at Albany Medical Center and the region’s only Level 1 trauma center. 

The system practices more of the most advanced medical specialties than any other local health care network, according to Albany Med.

“In its first year, Malta Med Emergent Care saw more than 28,000 visits, underscoring its role in the community,” said medical director Dr. Joanne McDonough. “Today, we are providing care for more than 45,000 visits annually, offering a reliable alternative to the emergency department for all but the most critical conditions.”

The success of Malta Med fueled expansion. The complex now includes facilities for same-day orthopedic surgery in collaboration with Capital Region Orthopedic Associates through the Center of Advanced Ambulatory Surgery, which opened on the Malta Med campus in 2021. Care and treatment for oncology, physical therapy, and other services are also performed at Malta Med.

Hudson Headwaters Health Network has launched a new model of patient care at the West Mountain Campus in Queensbury and at  its Moreau Family Health.

Known as team care, the cutting-edge approach is designed to deliver more personalized care for patients and improve work-life balance for health center staff.

Officials said in the team care model, each patient continues to have their primary care provider, but in addition, they are also assigned to a team of providers, nurses and administrative staff.  The entire team gets to know the patient so even if their primary care provider is unavailable, the patient can count on consistent, personalized care during their visit. 

The phone system, check-in and other processes have also been updated to provide a more efficient and streamlined experience.  Core teams are supported by behavioral health providers, care managers, clinical pharmacists and other specially trained staff. The model is designed to put the patient back at the center of their health care, according to Hudson Headwaters