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Nurses, patients voice frustration at North Star cuts
WWNY • • nation
Key Points:
- North Country Orthopedic Group in Watertown, New York, is closing after nearly 70 years of service, with an attached ambulatory surgery center potentially closing pending state approval.
- The closure is part of broader service cuts as North Star Health Alliance faces bankruptcy, causing frustration among nurses, patients, and staff who feel blindsided by the decision.
- Staff members expressed sorrow and apologized to patients who will now need to seek care elsewhere, emphasizing the strong bonds formed over years of care.
- The ambulatory surgery center is the only facility of its kind in the tri-county area, and its potential closure raises concerns about overburdening other local operating rooms.
- Procedures will continue at the surgery center for now, but if state approval is granted, it will close indefinitely alongside North Country Orthopedic.
