Plattsburgh, NY – Good news for parents in the North Country as pediatric care in the Lake City is expanding with Hudson Headwaters, a not-for-profit healthcare organization, stepping in to fill the gap left by the closure of a longtime pediatric care office in Plattsburgh in February.

“We have assessed the needs of our community, and that seems to be the biggest demand, so we hope that this next office will take care of that. In the last 6 months we have taken 5,000 new patients with a high majority of that being pediatrics, so we really look forward to expanding as we are outgrowing this site,” said R.N. and Northern Regional Practice Leader for Hudson Headwaters, Melissa Gooley.

Hudson Headwaters has hired 8 new pediatric and family health care providers as part of the expansion in the last year.

Gooley said they struggled to find healthcare providers to hire, similar to many other industries facing a workforce shortage.

“Absolutely, absolutely, and it’s still something that we’re actively working on, and we have great recruiters who are continuously working on trying to get people to work in this beautiful North Country,” said Gooley.

The new pediatric facility will be located at 25 DeGrandpre Way in the old OB/GYN building.

The anticipated opening date is at the end of this year, still pending New York State and health resources and services administration.

Gooley said community needs will play the biggest role in how many patients the new facility can take on and any further expansion opportunities the facility may have.

“The new office, we expect to have a panel size right now starting at 5,000 patients and we’ll see how it goes. It’s always just what the community needs are, we continue to just consistently monitor that and assess that and then recruit in regard to that,” said Gooley.

Anyone looking for care can go online or call the Hudson Headwaters Family Health Office to book their first appointment.