AMC Continues Aggressive Physician Recruitment Efforts

SARANAC LAKE - While many challenges remain, Adirondack Medical Center has made significant progress in recruiting a broad and diverse range of physicians and associate medical personnel to its Medical Staff.

The positive results experienced by AMC come at a time when health care facilities nationwide continue to grapple with a physician shortage, particularly at rural facilities on the primary care level.

Over the course of the past year, AMC has recruited 14 doctors and associate medical personnel.  Associate medical personnel are the mid-level providers such as physician assistants and nurse practitioners who play a key role in the provision of emergency medicine, surgical and primary care services.

Mid-level health care providers possess advanced education and are in a position to diagnose conditions, prescribe medications, order laboratory or medical imaging tests, and refer patients to a specialist.

Overall, AMC has recruited four primary care physicians, a hospitalist, orthopedic surgeon, a general/bariatric surgeon, gynecologist, and dentist.  The four primary care physicians that have been recruited are Dr. Brian Hart and Dr. Megan Wright with Adirondack Internal Medicine & Pediatrics; and Dr. Majeed Siddiqui and Dr. Jennifer Weibel with the AMC Health Centers. 

A Hospitalist is an acute-care physician that cares for patients in the hospital, and does so from admission to discharge.

The hospitalist recruited by AMC is Dr. Frank Nocilla, the orthopedic surgeon is Dr. Daniel Bullock, who will work with Lake Placid Sports Medicine; the general/bariatric surgeon is Dr. Taesun Moon, with the Adirondack Surgical Group; the dentist is Dr. Alphonso Edgecombe, with the AMC Dental Clinic; and the part-time gynecologist is Dr. James Jenks, at the Tupper Lake Health Center.

The Medical Center has also recruited two emergency department physician assistants, a surgical physician assistant, along with a physician assistant and nurse practitioner for its primary care clinics.

The success of the recruitment efforts can be tied to two key factors.  The first was to hire a dedicated physician recruitment and retention coordinator whose sole mission has been to fill the vacancies on the Medical Staff.  Joanne Johnson has served as the coordinator for nearly two years, and the success of AMC's recruitment and retention program is largely attributed to her efforts.  Secondly, AMC has enhanced the incentives it can offer prospective physicians, such as the availability of a hospitalist program, which alleviates some of the physician's duties, and offering payment to Medical Staff physicians for on-call duty in addition to increased salaries.

The one consistent asset in AMC's recruitment efforts is the ability to offer its medical staff the opportunity to practice in a modern and progressive facility, and live in a community that offers a unique quality of life.

"The Medical Staff continues to be the back bone of the hospital," said Chandler Ralph, AMC President and CEO. "We will continue to pursue doctors and associate medical personnel who share in our vision of being the pre-eminent provider of patient- and resident-centered health services in the Tri-Lakes region."

Dr. Frank Nocilla was recruited to establish and serve as the director of the Hospitalist Program at Adirondack Medical Center. 
Dr. Nocilla is one of 14 individuals recruited to the AMC Medical Staff over the course of the past year.

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	AMC is accredited by the Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program.
	Adirondack Medical Center's Bariatric Program and Dr. Michael Hill have been designated as a Center of Excellence by the American Society for Bariatric Surgery.