North Medical History

A Community-Based Approach to Health Care Dr. A. John Merola has always believed that health care should be delivered in the communities where people live, not by an austere, impersonal medical facility. North Medical was founded with this ideal in mind and remains committed to that vision today. After graduating from the Syracuse public school system and Syracuse University, Dr. Merola followed in his father’s footsteps and pursued a medical career. He received his Doctor of Medicine with Honors from the University of California Irvine in 1963 and completed his postgraduate medical training at UCLA. Dr. Merola chose to return home to Syracuse in 1964 to practice family medicine in North Syracuse with his friend and mentor, Dr. Carl E. Marlow. In these early years, Dr. Merola dealt with a wide range of medical situations and gained critical first-hand knowledge of the needs of his community. In 1969, he began planning for a more sophisticated health care facility in the northern suburbs. This led to the opening of the first North Medical Center at 7209 Buckley Road in Liverpool in 1971. He soon recruited Dr. Armond Cincotta from St. Joseph’s Hospital to join him. In the 1980’s Dr. Merola began recruiting the very best family physicians from around the area to meet the growing needs of the northern suburbs. This included Richard Seidner, M.D., James Lo Dolce, M.D., Michael Frumkin, M.D., Robert Parke, M.D., Bruce Silverstein, M.D. and Richard Kulak, D.O. An expanded North Medical Center opened at its current location on West Taft Road in 1989 to respond to ever-changing patient needs and advancing technology in healthcare. It became home to over 200 physicians, including primary care, various specialists and an ambulatory surgery center. Dr. Merola’s daughter, Susan Merola-McConn, M.D., and her husband, Mark McConn, M.D., also joined the practice that year. Also in 1989, North Medical Urgent Care opened to deliver emergency health care services on a walk-in basis. Northeast Medical Center in Fayetteville was opened in 1998 to meet the rapidly growing population in the east based upon the successful model in Liverpool. This center created a strengthened relationship with St. Joseph’s Hospital and the development of surgery, dialysis and wound care centers, as well as a sleep clinic. It is also home to an array of primary care providers and specialists, Today, North Medical is home to more than 70 providers and mid-level practitioners and over 500 employees dedicated to the delivery of quality, accessible healthcare to Syracuse-area residents. On a typical day, the practice sees approximately 1,000 patients. Most of these patients will be able to address many of their medical needs without even leaving the facility. Dr. Merola and his team are proud of what has been accomplished thus far in these facilities and look forward to finding ways to better serve their patients and the community.