St. Mary’s Healthcare Continues to Expand GI Services

AMSTERDAM, N.Y., Nov. 18, 2025—St. Mary’s Healthcare has added two more providers—Dr. Michael Coles and physician assistant Paige Desjardin—at its Gastroenterology Health Center. They join Dr. Garth Garramone, medical director of gastroenterology, and nurse practitioner Diane Gagliardi.

Dr. Coles comes to St. Mary’s after completing fellowships in gastroenterology and hepatology at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, and in neurogastroenterology and motility at Temple University Lewis Katz School of Medicine. He completed his internal medicine residency at Medical College of Georgia.

Desjardin previously was a physician assistant with St. Peter’s Family Medicine in Clifton Park. A graduate of the University of Rhode Island, she earned a Master of Physician Assistant Studies from Albany Medical College.

Both chose St. Mary’s for the opportunity to be part of a small, independent hospital with deep ties to its community and a mission to serve all with compassion and excellence.

“St. Mary’s is an extraordinary place to practice medicine and to receive care,” Dr. Garramone said. “As word spreads about the quality of this hospital and the supportive work environment, we’re seeing more and more patients and hearing from more providers who want to be part of this growing program.”

St. Mary’s Gastroenterology Health Center diagnoses and treats diseases of the digestive tract and liver, offers advanced medical imaging, and performs colonoscopies and other minimally invasive procedures.

The new providers are among 58 in 14 specialties who have joined St. Mary’s in the past two years as part of the hospital’s strategic investment in services that can have a powerful positive impact on community health.

Gastroenterology is a prime example. St. Mary’s serves a region where rates of colorectal cancer are higher than both the state and national averages. Ensuring access to colonoscopies can help reduce those rates and save lives.The Gastroenterology Health Center is located in St. Mary’s Medical Office Building on the Guy Park Avenue Campus. New patients are welcome. For an appointment, call 518-843-1240.

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About St. Mary’s Healthcare, Amsterdam: St. Mary’s Healthcare has been providing high-quality, compassionate healthcare to the people of Montgomery and Fulton counties since 1903. At St. Mary’s Hospital, the Rao Outpatient Pavilion and other locations, the local, independent healthcare organization offers the comprehensive, critical services its community needs and deserves. For more information: (518) 842-1900, www.smha.org or www.facebook.com/smha.org.

Contact:

Kristin Mosher
Director, Marketing and Communications
St. Mary’s Healthcare, Amsterdam
(518) 770-7505
kristin.mosher@nysmha.org