Watertown Pediatrics’ physician, JOSEPH C. GIANFAGNA will be joining the medical staff at Carthage Area Hospital’s Pediatric Clinic, beginning Sept. 6. He will serve as the pediatric medical director and will be seeing patients from Tuesday to Friday, from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. each week. Dr. Gianfagna lives in Watertown with his wife Rachael and three children, having returned to his hometown after completing a pediatric residency in 2013. He attended SUNY Geneseo, where he obtained degrees in biology and French, prior to attending Upstate Medical University. Upon receiving his doctorate in medicine, Gianfagna remained in Syracuse to complete training in pediatrics at Golisano Children’s Hospital. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, achieving board certification in 2014. Gianfagna continues to stay abreast of current trends in pediatric medicine through continuing medical-education activities. His medical interests include perinatal medicine, global health, rural medicine, and resident education. He is also fluent in French. Dr. Gianfagna has worked as a pediatrician in Watertown over the past 10 years. Carthage Pediatric Clinic treats the illnesses and injuries that occur in children. Its staff of specialists provide care to patients from newborns to adolescents and everyone in between. Its procedures include physical exams, sick visits, vaccinations, and more.

BENJAMIN FRUCE has joined Advanced Dental Arts, (ADA), as a full-time dentist. The practice is owned by Dr. Frank J. Fruce, his father and practice owner. Dr. Benjamin Fruce, a Fulton native, earned his degree in biology from Le Moyne College in 2017 and his dental degree from the University at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine in 2021. Fruce completed a one-year general practice residency at Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan, which encompassed all phases of dentistry, including cosmetic, endodontic, pediatric, periodontal, oral surgery and implant dentistry.

Oswego Health has added REWATI BHATTARAI as a new advanced practice provider at the Center for Gastroenterology & Metabolic Diseases. Bhattarai earned her bachelor’s degree in biology in 2015 at Syracuse University. In 2017 she attended Utica College’s Accelerated Nursing Program to earn her bachelor’s in nursing, before completing her master’s in nursing in 2020 at Upstate Medical University in Syracuse. Bhattarai has previously held positions as a nurse practitioner at Sodus Rehabilitation & Nursing Center, and as a registered nurse in the Transitional Care Unit at Upstate Medical University. Bhattarai joins the Center for Gastroenterology & Metabolic Diseases at Oswego Health and will work alongside Dr. Ajoy Roy and Dr. Suri Karthikeyan, to offer care for a wide spectrum of diseases and disorders affecting the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. That includes the esophagus, stomach, liver, gallbladder, bile ducts, pancreas, intestines, colon, and rectum.

Rome Health Prenatal Care, located at 155 W. Dominick St., has added women’s health nurse practitioner MARGUERITE SHIFRIN to its team. She provides the full scope of gynecologic and obstetric care to women in the community. Having grown up in rural New York, Shifrin went on to graduate from Duke University School of Nursing. Excellence in rural and underserved medicine is Shifrin’s calling. Prior to her graduate degree, she worked in a variety of capacities as a nurse in women’s health, starting in 2003 with immersion in a free-standing birth center and spending the next two decades committed to women’s health in a variety of roles including birth and lactation support. Shifrin believes women’s health is foundational to the wellness of the population at large, “ensuring access to quality preconception, pregnancy, and preventive care for women is critical to maintaining our community’s health.”

Paige’s Butterfly Run, Inc. announced that JENNIFER HUNTLEY has joined its team as director of development. She brings about 13 years of development and marketing experience in the Central New York community, most recently working with the Franciscans at Assumption Church on the north side of Syracuse. Huntley’s primary focus will be helping to spread the word about the mission of Paige’s Butterfly Run to benefit current and future pediatric-cancer patients and their families in Central New York, nurturing existing relationships and making new connections. Huntley holds a degree in business management from Bryant & Stratton College.