North Country Orthopaedic Group joins staff at Carthage, Ogdensburg hospitals

WATERTOWN, N.Y. — The doctors at North Country Orthopaedic Group (NCOG) in Watertown have joined the medical staff of the hospitals serving both Carthage and Ogdensburg.

In addition to caring for patients at its Watertown office and outpatient surgery center, NCOG will see patients in the Ogdensburg community and perform surgeries at Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center (CHMC) and at Carthage Area Hospital (CAH).

“The expansion of North Country Orthopedics into the Carthage and Ogdensburg communities really cannot be overstated. This gives our communities access to eight highly-trained orthopaedic specialists,” Richard Duvall, president and CEO of both Carthage Area Hospital and Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center, said in a release. “The increased access to care — provided by the region’s premier orthopedic practice — benefits not only our patients and their families but our area schools and sports programs, employers and managed care partners.”

With the addition of the NCOG physicians to the hospitals’ medical staff, both organizations will now have access to a board-certified physiatrist, Dr. Howard Huang, specializing in treating medical conditions affecting the brain, spinal cord, nerves, bones, joints, ligaments, muscles, and tendons, as well as Dr. Claudia Fish, a board-certified endocrinologist, per the release.

In addition to services available in the North Country Orthopaedic Group offices in Watertown, NCOG physicians have started scheduling office visits in Ogdensburg and anticipate performing procedures at both hospitals before the end of the month.

In Carthage, the NCOG physicians will complement the hospital’s existing upper-extremity orthopedics program by offering lower-extremity surgical care such as ACL reconstruction, outpatient spine care, labrum and meniscus repair, and other minimally invasive procedures.

In Ogdensburg, NCOG surgeons will help support Claxton-Hepburn’s “growing” orthopedic program, including arthroscopic-surgery offerings, sports medicine, joint camp, and total joint-replacement program.

“This geographic expansion of our practice helps us fulfill our mission to meet the orthopedic needs of the North Country and allows patients to receive care closer to where they live and work,” Dr. Bruce Baird, board-certified orthopedic surgeon and president of North Country Orthopaedic Group, said.