Stronger Together
- Jodi Brunner
- Jul 6
- 4 min read
By Mallory Leonard
Here’s the thing about the North Country — it’s a tight-knit community that specializes in offering a hand when support is needed. When I sat down with Hudson Headwaters Health Network’s Pam Fisher, Director of External Affairs and Melissa Gooley, RN, Regional Practice Leader — North, I learned that for more than four decades the health network has been supporting North Country communities’ health needs.
Hudson Headwaters Health Network (HHHN) is a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) and nonprofit network of 26 community-based primary care health centers, that provides care for more than 160,000 patients annually throughout seven counties in upstate New York.
It was a lack of primary care providers, brought on by a number of retirements, that drew Hudson Headquarters to Franklin County in the early 2020s. When HHHN opened Family Health at Malone on the campus of Alice Hyde Medical Center in December of 2023 the goal was to address immediate needs.
A space was move-in ready and allowed the practice to establish a presence in the area quickly. “We got on campus and opened a site that has six patient rooms and two full-time nurse practitioners. We’re here to serve the needs of the community,” Gooley said. “Nurse practitioners can do most everything a physician can. The amazing thing about Hudson Headwaters is that we have so many physicians in our network. Our nurse practitioners have resources at their fingertips when they have a situation they want to run by a physician.”
Nurse practitioners at Family Health at Malone conduct everything from checkups, ongoing chronic condition management, gynecology and family planning services, care management, integrated behavioral health, and other preventative care.
Fisher and Gooley spoke highly of the two nurse practitioners recruited in 2024. Susan Foster, FNP and April Worlock, FNP, both from Malone, are not only serving the community, but are part of the community as well. Foster comes from a background of nursing in pediatrics and the Emergency Room, and those experiences led her to become a nurse practitioner. Worlock grew up in Malone and became a nurse practitioner to provide high-quality care to her community.
Patients are seen five days a week and new patients are being accepted. “We see everyone from newborns all the way to end of life,” Gooley said. “Our office can care for the whole family. Primary care coordinates everything. You want to have that one person who can keep all the puzzle pieces together.”
Fisher commented, “We are new in Malone — new to the community, so people don’t know us the way they do in the other 25 communities HHHN has served over the last 40 years. If you ask people in those communities, they will tell you we have a reputation of understanding our patients’ needs. The more families we see, the more that message will spread in this area.”
Once open in Malone, Hudson Headwaters immediately identified opportunities for community engagement. They have become supporters of the Franklin County Fair, the Malone backpack program, the Malone Chamber of Commerce, SummerFest, Concerts in the Park, the Franklin County Health and Human Services Agencies Focus Group, the United Way of the Adirondacks, Hospice of the North Country, and the 2025 Fly-In.
“We are often identified as a hospital, but we are not,” Fisher explained. “What we have found is that being in close proximity to our partner — Alice Hyde Medical Center — is advantageous for everyone. If we can refer someone, and all they have to do is walk across the parking lot, that’s convenient.”
Everyone receives care at HHHN, regardless of their ability to pay or their insurance status. The Center participates with most major insurers, including Fidelis Care, Medicare and Medicaid, and other financial and billing assistance services. Hudson Headwaters also offers a Sliding Fee program that provides discounted medical care at their health centers. Eligibility is determined solely on household/family size and annual earnings. Eight out of ten applicants are approved.
Family Health at Malone started with about 250 patients; it has now grown to care for over 1,800. “We had a great first year,” Fisher recalled. “We’re excited to be a part of the community.” The office employs 12 staff who are community members and is actively recruiting new providers.
Patient enrollment continues to grow, and Hudson Headwaters is preparing for further expansion with a new, stand-alone health center, slated to open in 2026. Family Health at Malone will be a 13,000 square foot state-of-the-art primary care center with 15 exam rooms. Construction is already underway. Plans for a community pharmacy are also included in the new facility to be located at 24 4th Street in Malone, much like the one opened in Saratoga County adjacent to Moreau Family Health. The health center/in-house pharmacy model is something the Network is looking to expand throughout its service region. The new Malone location is within view of the current one, making it a familiar journey for current patients and still within proximity of its hospital partner.
I asked what sets Family Health at Malone apart — why a patient would choose the practice over another — and without hesitation Gooley responded, “We listen.” She smiled as she said, “Our providers listen. We take the time to get to know you. That’s what you want in a provider.” Many people have been to a provider and felt unheard and unseen, just prescribed medication and ushered out the door. Gooley stressed that to get proper care, a patient’s provider needs to get to know the whole patient, not just the symptoms. “We continually explore what additional services may benefit our patients—whether provided directly by us or through collaboration with our partners—while aligning with the patient’s care plan.” Sometimes that involves their regional hospital partners. “We deeply value our relationships with our hospital partners while serving our communities with collaboration and partnership,” Fisher added. “We are stronger together.”
Family Health at Malone
16 3rd St Unit A
Malone, NY 12953
518 824-2562
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