Albany Med plans to open diabetes clinic in Niskayuna

PHOTOGRAPHER: Bethany Bump

Albany Medical Center and CapitalCare Holdings want to establish a diagnostic and treatment center for diabetes in Niskayuna, a market traditionally dominated by Ellis Medicine.

The proposed center, currently under review by the state Department of Health, would be called Schenectady Specialty Services. It would primarily serve patients with diabetes and other endocrine disorders across Schenectady, Fulton, Montgomery and Schoharie counties, where the mortality rate for diabetes is higher than the state average in all but Fulton County.

The center would occupy 5,406 square feet of office and common space on the third floor of a professional building at 2125 River Road. Currently, this space houses a two-physician specialty endocrinology office run by CapitalCare Medical Group, a 55-member physician group and affiliate of CapitalCare Holdings.

The joint venture comes as regional health care providers announce — practically en masse — collaborations and alliances to share best practices, resources, infrastructure and services in an effort to save money, create efficiencies and reduce redundancies.

Just last week, Ellis Medicine and St. Peter’s Health Partners announced the launch of a new physicians practice designed to fight diabetes and pre-diabetic conditions. A month earlier, the Schenectady and Albany hospital systems announced they would form a regional alliance and invited other providers to join. Albany Medical Center opted not to join, instead pursuing its own alliances across the broader Capital District and into the Hudson Valley.

In July, Albany Med made its mark on Schenectady County with the acquisition of its first physician practice in Schenectady and the opening of its newest walk-in clinic in Glenville.

Albany Med Faculty Physicians Chair of Medicine Dr. Richard Blinkhorn would serve as medical director of the proposed diabetes center, which would employ 121⁄2 full-time staff in the first year and 19 by the third year.

Health care officials expect nearly 7,500 visits in the first year of operation and more than 13,400 visits by the third year.

They’re also estimating revenues of $1.23 million and expenses of $1.32 million in the first year, and revenues of $2.21 million and expenses of $2.16 million by the third year.