OSWEGO — Oswego Health and Syracuse Orthopedic Specialists, PC (SOS) are still working out the details of their partnership that will bring SOS orthopedic surgeons to Oswego County to provide care. The organizations announced their “collaboration” in a news release that Oswego Health issued April 5. They did not disclose any financial terms of their […]
OSWEGO — Oswego Health and Syracuse Orthopedic Specialists, PC (SOS) are still working out the details of their partnership that will bring SOS orthopedic surgeons to Oswego County to provide care.
The organizations announced their “collaboration” in a news release that Oswego Health issued April 5.
They did not disclose any financial terms of their agreement.
Oswego Health is hoping it’s a “long term” agreement,” says Charles (Chuck) Gijanto, president and CEO of Oswego Health, who spoke with CNYBJ on April 20.
Oswego Health has a “fairly small” orthopedic program but believes it is “important” for its patients to get care “as close to home as possible.”
Many of Oswego Health’s patients were traveling to Onondaga County for SOS’s services, according to Gijanto.
“We really thought rather than trying to build and compete with them, why not see if we could partner with them,” he adds.
When asked if both Oswego Health and SOS would share the revenue generated from the orthopedic services, Gijanto said that “clearly both parties should benefit from this opportunity.”
The SOS staff will work alongside Oswego Health’s orthopedic team to provide office visits at the Oswego Health Services Center and perform surgeries in Oswego Hospital’s surgery center, Oswego Health said in the release.
Oswego Health anticipates the SOS staff will use Oswego Health facilities this summer, but both organizations are still coordinating the details on implementing SOS’s care in Oswego.
“We won’t start … with surgeries [right away], but we’ll start with office hours here in conjunction with our existing orthopedics office,” says Gijanto.
The office hours could start in late spring. The surgeries may not start until later in the year, he adds.
“…when we’re ready to go is when we’ll initiate [orthopedic surgeries] and not before,” Gijanto notes.
SOS has 28 orthopedic surgeons on staff. Most offer care for knees, hips, hands and upper extremities, feet and ankles, and the spine. They also treat sports injuries of high school and college athletes, and “weekend warriors” as well.
Oswego Health currently has one independent orthopedic surgeon and two employed orthopedic surgeons on its medical staff.
This collaboration is a “great opportunity” for SOS to offer care in Oswego County, Mike Humphrey, CEO of SOS, said in the Oswego Health news release.
SOS has provided care for a number of patients from Oswego County, Humphrey told HealthCare Provider in a phone interview on April 20.
He estimates patients from Oswego County comprise 10 percent of SOS’s customer base, and they have to travel to SOS offices around Onondaga County for their treatment.
“We want to maintain that relationship … still be the orthopedic-care givers for that large population, but in this capacity, we can be bringing some of that access back to Oswego,” says Humphrey.
He hopes the agreement with Oswego Health will make orthopedic care “more accessible, more efficient” for patients in the Oswego area.
Founded in 1999, DeWitt–based Syracuse Orthopedic Specialists has more than 25 physicians and employs about 600 additional staff members.
It operates offices in locations that include Auburn, Lysander, Camillus, Cicero, Clay, DeWitt, Manlius, and Onondaga.
The Oswego Health system includes Oswego Hospital, The Manor at Seneca Hill, Springside at Seneca Hill, Oswego Health Home Care, Physician Care, P.C., and other supporting affiliates that provide health services to about 120,000 people in Oswego County.