Watertown , New York ----- Samaritan Medical Center has purchased Watertown Breast Imaging from G. Michael Maresca, MD, a radiologist based in St. Lawrence County.

Samaritan Medical Center plans to keep staff and continue the services currently offered at the 428 Washington Street location. “We are proud to welcome Watertown Breast Imaging to the Samaritan family. Dr. Maresca and the Watertown Breast Imaging staff have built an outstanding women’s diagnostic imaging practice, which has a fine reputation and serves approximately 5,000 women in Watertown and surrounding communities,” explains Thomas H. Carman, President and CEO of Samaritan Medical Center. “Many women in this community depend on Watertown Breast Imaging for their healthcare services. Through the years, they have developed relationships with the staff and a trust in the services offered, all of which we plan to continue through a seamless transition.”

Dr. Maresca provides radiology services at several St. Lawrence County hospitals, including Canton-Potsdam Hospital, Massena Memorial Hospital, Clifton-Fine Hospital, and E.J. Noble Hospital, as well as other hospitals in New York and Pennsylvania. He has owned Watertown Breast Imaging (WBI) since 2000. The practice was started by Dr. Jan Turcotte, a general surgeon who specializes in breast surgery, and Watertown Ob/Gyn Dr. George Couch, who has since retired from practice.

“Drs. Turcotte and Couch started WBI in order to provide a higher level of care to the women of Watertown. With the combined talents of the WBI staff, the Canton-Potsdam Hospital Mammography Division and Dr. Turcotte, I was able to evolve WBI into a first class women’s imaging and breast biopsy center. Out of that came a true center of excellence, of which I am fortunate to have been a part,” stated Dr. Maresca. “In my discussions with Samaritan’s CEO, Tom Carman, the benefits of Samaritan’s ownership were clear and their intentions good. Though I will miss working with the staff, patients, and physicians of Watertown, I feel confident that Watertown Breast Imaging will continue to provide women’s healthcare as it has for many years. This is a good thing for Watertown Breast Imaging and the patients it serves.”

Services offered at Watertown Breast Imaging include: mammography, ultrasound, bone densitometry, fine needle aspiration, stereotactic breast biopsy, ultrasound guided breast biopsy, and mammotome vacuum-assisted breast biopsy.

Watertown Breast Imaging will be the third SMC site to offer women’s health services in Watertown. In addition to the diagnostic imaging services offered through the hospital’s radiology department, such as mammography, ultrasound, and stereotactic breast biopsy, Samaritan also provides similar services at its women’s health center, Woman to Woman. Located at 1575 Washington Street, Woman to Woman offers a full range of women’s health services in one convenient location, including gynecology, primary care, mammography, ultrasound, and bone densitometry.

The office phone number for Watertown Breast Imaging will remain the same (782-5008).

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