New York to spend $74M to build new hospital in WNY. What to know
State officials on Monday announced the release of $74 million in taxpayer-supported funds to build a new hospital in Western New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul said.
The hospital will replace the aging Brooks-TLC Hospital — the only community hospital in Chautauqua County. The state funds, which had been previously awarded, were released after health care unions and workers spent seven years pushing state officials to shore up health care services in the rural community, labor groups said in a statement.
Kaleida Health, the Buffalo-based health system, and Brooks-TLC Health Systems struck an agreement with Hochul’s administration and union groups to build the new hospital in the village of Fredonia, the governor’s office said. It is expected to open within about three years, replacing the current hospital in the city of Dunkirk.
“Every New Yorker deserves to have access to essential health services where and when they need it most,” Hochul said in a statement, calling the new facility “a major victory” for the Chautauqua County community.
Details of the new Western NY hospital
Plans for the new hospital include upgrading medical equipment and technology to deliver advanced health care, the governor’s office noted, adding it would also ensure 300 workers at the current hospital keep their jobs and help attract more medical providers to the region.
Kaleida Health, in concert with the leadership team and board of directors at Brooks-TLC hospital, will plan, construct, and operate the new Brooks-TLC Hospital, and once it opens will serve as the active parent and sole member of the new hospital, Hochul said.
The proposed new hospital would include:
- Emergency Services (12 bays) and a helipad.
- 15 beds (medical/surgical)
- Surgical suite (four rooms) and two procedure rooms.
- Imaging – CT/CTA/MRI/Ultrasound/Rad/Dexa Scan/Nuclear Med/3D Mammography
- Lab services/pathology and other medical services.
The current hospital has been within the rural State Directed Payment program and the Vital Access Provider Assurance Program, which are supplemental funding programs to support financially distressed hospitals.
As a hospital receiving state financial support, it was required to develop restructuring plans that would lead it to sustainability, Hochul noted. In the course of its restructuring efforts, Brooks merged with TLC Network, and the combined entity affiliated with Kaleida Health.
NY health care:NY approved a $37B Medicaid budget. Where is money going, how will it impact health care?
New Western NY hospital ‘provides renewed hope,’ unions say
Union members with the 1199 SEIU and New York State Nurses Association asserted they had been working “at the outdated Brooks Memorial Hospital in Dunkirk” and continued “to provide the best care under difficult conditions.”
The new hospital “provides renewed hope of keeping access to quality care local,” they added in a statement, noting New York released the funds after hospital workers organized a public rally last fall at the hospital’s entrance and in March held a community forum to push for the aid.
“Rural healthcare should not be valued less than healthcare anywhere else,” Heather Luce, a nurse at Brooks hospital said in a statement, noting the state funding “ensures that the people and families that our state relies on for agriculture and industry can live here, thrive here, and have access to quality healthcare here.”
The hospital leadership is expected to submit a revised Certificate of Need application to the state Department of Health, which will expedite approval, Hochul said.
link
