Carthage Area Hospital CEO Duvall to also lead Claxton-Hepburn in Ogdensburg

CARTHAGE, N.Y. — Richard (Rich) Duvall, CEO of Carthage Area Hospital, will also become the next CEO of Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center in Ogdensburg, effective mid-October.

Duvall will replace Claxton-Hepburn’s interim CEO, Charles (Chuck) Gijanto, who is retiring from his current role, per a joint news release the hospitals issued Thursday afternoon.

The announcement “does not” represent a merger or acquisition, the organizations said.

Both the Claxton-Hepburn and Carthage Hospital’s boards of directors approved Duvall’s appointment. The final approval will come in the week ahead from the North Star Health Alliance, the parent board of the affiliation between Claxton-Hepburn and River Hospital in Alexandria Bay.

Duvall has worked at Carthage Area Hospital since 2008, serving in various leadership capacities culminating with his appointment to CEO in 2014. He has a “strong” track record of improving operations and expanding health-care services throughout the community and will serve as CEO of both facilities, the release stated.

“This is an exciting partnership between two North Country hospitals,” Duvall said. “Working together will only strengthen the services we offer to patients by taking a regional approach to health care in the North Country. Ideally, this will create efficiencies in the way we conduct business. This partnership is the next step in creating an integrated, system-wide approach to how our patients receive health care.”

Both health-care facilities have worked “collaboratively” since the announcement of their affiliation with Crouse Health in Syracuse late 2017. Building on those initiatives, Crouse North was established in this past spring to provide locally based planning and “increased access to care.”

“Rich’s familiarity of the challenges facing North Country health-care facilities and the importance of working together make him an ideal choice as our next CEO,” M. Sandra Lyons, chair of the Claxton-Hepburn board of directors, contended.

About the hospitals

Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center is a 115-bed community hospital and regional referral center. Claxton-Hepburn’s inpatient services include intensive care, acute care, a birthing center, and a mental health center. The medical center also provides primary care to nearly 40,000 Ogdensburg residents and regional services to the 108,000 people of St. Lawrence County.

Established in 1965, Carthage Area Hospital operates today as a 25-bed critical access hospital, serving about 83,000 residents across Jefferson, northern Lewis, and southern St. Lawrence counties.

In addition to establishing a clinical affiliation with Syracuse’s Crouse Health in 2017, the hospital also operates a network of community-based clinics, including the Philadelphia Medical Center, Carthage Family Health Center, Carthage Pediatric Clinic, and Women’s Way to Wellness.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com