More local care, a focus on patients and opportunities for the next generation.
Finding a primary care doctor. Getting an appointment with a specialist. Keeping up with the tests and follow-up visits that come with managing a health condition. These are everyday concerns for families across the Mohawk Valley, and having those services close to home makes a difference.
At Slocum-Dickson Medical Group, those needs are helping shape what comes next. From adding physicians to making lab visits more convenient, the group continues to invest in services that reflect the community it serves.
More Care, Closer to Home
Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery has returned to Slocum-Dickson with Dr. Victor Martinez Zavala at the Business Park Campus. His services include breast augmentation, rhinoplasty, facelifts and mommy makeovers, as well as breast reconstruction and reconstruction following Mohs surgery. For patients considering these procedures, having a local option can mean less travel and easier access to follow-up care.
Dr. Stanislav Arkadyev provides primary care with a focus on geriatrics, an important addition for a region with an aging population. It also gives older adults and the families helping coordinate their care another resource close to home.
Other specialties include allergy care with Dr. Vrinda Kumar and orthopedics with Dr. Rolanda Willacy, whose focus is adult hip and knee reconstruction. Dr. Michael Redner joined Family Practice earlier this year, and another family practice physician, an endocrinologist and a podiatrist are expected by year’s end. Those additions will help address the need for more primary care physicians and expand specialty services, including care for diabetes, thyroid disorders and metabolic conditions.
For local families, it means more options without having to leave the Mohawk Valley.
Listening to Patients
Sometimes, improving the patient experience starts with something as straightforward as scheduling a lab visit.
After hearing patient feedback, Slocum-Dickson expanded its laboratory appointment options to help reduce wait times and make it easier to plan a visit. Beginning October 1, prioritized appointments will be available at both campuses Monday through Friday, from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Patients can schedule through MyChart or by calling 315.798.1575.
Walk-ins will remain available at the lower-level lab on the Burrstone Campus Monday through Friday, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, from 9 a.m. to noon.
The lab has also added the fully automated VITROS XT7600 system, allowing the group to expand its specialized testing capabilities and process tests more efficiently as demand grows.
Making Connections Beyond the Office
Slocum-Dickson’s involvement in community health goes beyond patient appointments. The group participates in the American Heart Association’s Heart Radiothon to promote heart health and sponsors the Boilermaker Walk, encouraging people to get moving and make healthy habits part of their routine.
It also works with local schools to give students a closer look at careers in health care. High school career days, BOCES shadowing programs and job fairs offer opportunities to ask questions, meet professionals and see what the work involves.
Through relationships with institutions including SUNY Poly and SUNY Upstate, Slocum-Dickson supports clinical learning for medical students, nurse practitioner and physician assistant students, and physicians completing residency rotations. These experiences introduce students to local practices and the people they could one day work alongside.
For some, that connection leads to a job after graduation or licensure. For the community, it can mean another health care professional choosing to build a career and a life here.
That’s an important part of Slocum-Dickson’s continued growth: meeting patients’ needs now, while helping bring more people into the local health care workforce for the years ahead.
Slocum-Dickson Medical Group
Burrstone Campus
1729 Burrstone Road
New Hartford, NY 13413
315-798-1500
Business Park Campus
117 Business Park Drive
Utica, NY 13502
315-798-1500
Website: sdmg.com
