Neena Rao Family Health Center Joins St. Mary’s
AMSTERDAM, N.Y., Jan. 7, 2025—Dr. Govind Rao, one of the region’s most beloved, respected physicians, is partnering with St. Mary’s Healthcare to ensure continued access to exceptional care for patients at the region’s largest pediatric practice.
As of Jan. 7, Dr. Rao and his team are in practice at Neena Rao Family Health Center at 442 ½ Guy Park Avenue, a hospital-owned building on the St. Mary’s Hospital campus. Their patients continue to receive the same high-quality care, from the same providers—in a new location.
The collaboration helps secure the future of a practice that has served the region’s pediatric and adolescent patients for more than half a century, regardless of families’ ability to pay. As a service of the hospital’s professional corporation, Carondelet Regional Medical, the practice can now provide more seamless access to imaging and other specialty services through St. Mary’s Healthcare.
“Dr. Rao and his family exemplify selflessness, compassion, and generosity,” said Jeff Methven, St. Mary’s president and CEO. “We are honored and grateful that Dr. Rao has entrusted St. Mary’s to build on his legacy by upholding the core values of his practice and enhancing the care and services available to his patients.”
The partnership with Dr. Rao is the latest example of St. Mary’s strategy to forge alliances with local providers to enable the rural community hospital to continue to grow while remaining independent.
On Jan. 1, St. Mary’s Healthcare, Nathan Littauer Hospital & Nursing Home, and Mohawk Valley Orthopedics launched a partnership that clears the way for them to collaborate on orthopedic care. In 2023, Amsterdam Family Health joined St. Mary’s to partner on providing primary care services.
“St. Mary’s is determined to provide both the scope of services our region deserves and the personalized, compassionate care that is the hallmark of a community hospital,” Methven said. “We see enormous value in developing strategic relationships with like-minded, trusted partners.”
Dr. Rao moved to Amsterdam in 1972 and has been enhancing the health and quality of life in the community ever since as a pediatrician, as medical director for the Montgomery County Public Health Department, and via his philanthropy.
Through their Neena Rao Charitable Corporation, Dr. Rao and his wife, Jyothi Rao, consistently provide critical support to local organizations that serve the most vulnerable: children, veterans, seniors, those who are homeless, and countless others in need. The Rao family is among St. Mary’s most generous supporters, giving $1 million to the campaign to build the hospital’s Rao Outpatient Pavilion.
“There are no better partners than Dr. Rao and the Rao family—for St. Mary’s and the region we serve,” Methven said.
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About St. Mary’s Healthcare, Amsterdam: St. Mary’s Healthcare has been providing high-quality, compassionate healthcare to the people of Montgomery and Fulton counties since 1903. At St. Mary’s Hospital, the Rao Outpatient Pavilion and other locations, the local, independent healthcare system offers the comprehensive, critical services its community needs and deserves. For more information: (518) 842-1900, www.smha.org or www.facebook.com/smha.org.
Contact:
Kristin Mosher
Director, Marketing and Communications
St. Mary’s Healthcare, Amsterdam
(518) 770-7505