GANSEVOORT – After 23 years, Community Care Pediatrics has moved across the street into the former campus of Adirondack Community College at 6 Mountain Ledge Drive in Gansevoort.
“We are just delighted with the new facility,” said pediatrician Dr. Jami Hawthorne, M.D. “It allows us to grow the practice and provide more access for patients. It’s fresh and bright and cheery, overall a better patient experience.”
“We sat with an architect and design person from our corporate office to come up with the best configuration for the space,” said Diane Ethier, Practice Manager. She laughed and added, “We went through quite a few drafts, but we finally got it just right.” The corporate office is Community Care Physicians based in Latham, NY.
The entrance to the facility is in the back of the building, convenient to the large parking lot. Patients walk in to a double check-in area that provides greater privacy than the previous facility. There is a large screen monitor there with scrolling messages highlighting events or providing flu shot reminders and other tips for waiting patients. There is also a prominent disabled access entrance on the side with two exam rooms in close proximity with lower tables and other features to ease the visit experience for disabled patients.
The facility now boasts two separate waiting rooms for sick and well visits, both decorated with large, colorful displays of animals and sea life. The Safari Room is the waiting room for well visits, and the Sea Room is the waiting room for sick visits. The overall feel is very kid-friendly, with bright colors and large windows.
Bubba, a patient-favorite for more than 10 years, is currently located in the Sea Room, but even he is getting a new home. The South African blood parrot cichlid will be swimming in a six-foot 125 gallon tank as soon as a stand suitable to the tank and water weight is installed.
Pediatrician Dr. Anne Marthy-Noonan, M.D., said “I was at the old office on the first day it opened, and I thought it was beautiful then. Things have changed quite a bit these last 20 years in the way we practice medicine, and this new facility is perfect for providing the best care to our patients.”
There is a new conference room that doubles as an education room. “We hold Prenatal Night there once a month, when expectant parents can meet with providers,” said Ethier. “Overall, everything is roomier for the patients, for support staff, and practitioners. We have an expanded lab, too. We’ve almost doubled our space.”
There are nine providers, seven pediatricians and two nurse practitioners. Typically, four or five of them are available seeing up to 150 children altogether each day. Staff has been with the practice for an average of 20 years. There are 21 comfortably-sized exam rooms plus a treatment room where a patient can receive allergy shots or nebulizer treatments while waiting for an exam.
Like the facility, walk-in hours have expanded, too. Patients can be seen as walk-ins Monday through Friday mornings from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. and Monday through Thursday evenings from 5:30 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Appointments and walk-ins are on Saturdays, too, from 8 a.m. to noon.
Community Care Pediatrics is holding an Open House for the public to view the new facility on Sunday, May 17, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Children are invited to bring their favorite toy for teddy bear checkups, and there will be several kid-friendly activities, including a bounce house obstacle course, face painting, and giveaways. Snow cone and popcorn machines will be on site and refreshments will be served by the Saratoga Pediatrics team. Open for both patients and non-patients looking for a kid-friendly activity for the day. For more information, please visit www.communitycare.com/SaratogaPediatrics.
