Samaritan Health opens new orthopedic practice

WATERTOWN, N.Y. — Samaritan Medical Center on Jan. 4 opened a new specialty practice, called Samaritan Orthopedics. 

It is located in the Washington Summit complex at 22567 Summit Drive, Building II, in Watertown, per a Dec. 22 news release from Samaritan Health, the parent organization.

Dr. Scott Mollison, who joined Samaritan Medical Center in 2018, leads the practice. He specializes and is fellowship-trained in sports medicine and upper-extremity procedures including shoulder replacements and trauma. 

Mollison is certified by the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada (FRCSC) and has completed the first of two steps required for American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery (ABOS) certification. 

Samaritan is “actively” recruiting for new orthopedic surgeons to join the practice, per its release.

Samaritan Orthopedics joins Samaritan’s existing specialty practices. They include Samaritan dermatology; ear, nose, and throat; gastroenterology; general and vascular surgery; plastic surgery; urology; and wound care.  

“Over the past few years, there has been an outward migration of orthopedic patients who seek services in the Syracuse area rather than locally,” Thomas Carman, president and CEO of Samaritan Health and Samaritan Medical Center, said. “We’re pleased to continue offering these services to the North Country under the Samaritan umbrella, keeping orthopedic care accessible and convenient right here in Watertown.”

Carman went on to say that Samaritan currently handles more than 900 surgical orthopedics cases per year and hopes to continue to grow so fewer patients have to travel out of the area for care. 

“We have a full spectrum of services available to our orthopedic patients, including a pre-surgical joint camp workshop for patients who need knee or hip surgery, a dedicated unit in the hospital for post-surgical care, outpatient physical therapy services and experienced staff to help patients throughout the entire journey. We are excited about this expansion of our specialty services and to continue working with local private practices, like the North Country Orthopaedic Group…”