St. Mary’s Healthcare Adds Pulmonology and Sleep Medicine Services
New practice brings much-needed lung health and critical care services to the Fulton-Montgomery region
AMSTERDAM, N.Y., July 1, 2024—Starting today, area patients who have chronic respiratory and sleep-related conditions will have access to the care they need, close to home, from St. Mary’s Healthcare Pulmonology and Sleep Medicine.
The new practice brings much-needed lung health and critical care expertise to Montgomery, Fulton and surrounding counties to treat patients with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), sleep apnea and other respiratory-related conditions. Because St. Mary’s Healthcare Pulmonology and Sleep Medicine is hospital-based, this higher-level expertise also will be readily available to hospitalized patients and the St. Mary’s medical team.
“Residents of our region deserve easy access to this essential care from their community hospital,” Jeff Methven, president and CEO of St. Mary’s Healthcare, said.
The hospital added pulmonology and sleep medicine in response to the region’s higher-than-average rates of many chronic respiratory conditions—and shortage of loc
al pulmonary medicine providers. Because of this combination, patients often face considerable delays before receiving treatment.
Methven, along with other St. Mary’s team members and community leaders, celebrated the opening of the $2.6 million pulmonology and sleep medicine facility with a ribbon-cutting at the hospital on June 27. The service is one of several that St. Mary’s expects to bring to the region to enable residents to receive quality medical care without the inconvenience of traveling outside the area.
Since Methven’s appointment 18 months ago, the independent healthcare organization has been focused on becoming the community’s first choice for healthcare. St. Mary’s has added new staff, welcomed back former employees, and attracted experienced specialists such as Dr. Santosh Vaghela, the pulmonologist who serves as medical director of St. Mary’s Healthcare Pulmonology and Sleep Medicine.
Dr. Vaghela fell in love with the region as an undergraduate at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in nearby Troy. He returned to the area after completing his medical education and, for the past three years, has been in practice in Queensbury, Saratoga Springs and Malta. He is fellowship-trained in pulmonary disease, critical care medicine, and sleep medicine and is board certified in all three specialties.
“Pulmonology and sleep medicine can have a profound impact on people’s lives,” Dr. Vaghela said. “We are excited to provide this service to the hospital and community. It will make a real difference for our patients.”
St. Mary’s Pulmonology and Sleep Medicine is accepting new patients. For more information, go to St. Mary’s Pulmonology and Sleep Medicine. To make an appointment, call 518-841-7432.
Pictured (left to right): Mike Reynolds, director of Business Operations, St. Mary’s Healthcare; Thomas Cichy, vice chairperson, St. Mary’s Healthcare Board of Trustees; Emily Etzkorn, MD, St. Mary’s board member; Michael Pepe, chairperson, St. Mary’s board; Santosh Vaghela, MD, medical director, St. Mary’s Healthcare Pulmonology and Sleep Medicine; Jeff Methven, president and CEO, St. Mary’s Healthcare; the Rev. Robert DeMartina, St. Mary’s board member; Trish Sanders, vice president and chief operating officer, St. Mary’s Healthcare; and Nichole Mello, director, Specialty Services and Ambulatory Nursing, St. Mary’s Healthcare.