NYS funding stalls for North Star Health Alliance

OGDENSBURG, New York (WWNY) – State and federal lawmakers say New York State funding has stopped flowing in for North Star Health Alliance at a critical point as the health care group transitions Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center into a critical access hospital and behavioral health hospital and it puts the facilities on the brink of crisis.

7NEWS has learned the health group is doing all it can to make sure it can meet its next payroll which is $5.5 million dollars every 2 weeks, paying nearly 1700 people.

“The New York State Department of Health has allegedly failed to fully support and possibly even obstructed Carthage Area Hospital, Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center, and Claxton-Hepburn Medical Campus from completing their approved restructuring that would preserve critical healthcare services throughout the North Country,” says Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, R – 21st District.

The Governor’s office responded Thursday afternoon to Stefanik’s claims.

The state and health care group came to an agreement earlier this year as to how much financial support would be needed as Claxton-Hepburn changes its healthcare model. 7NEWS has learned the total is $84 million, and half of that has been distributed to North Star. The money provides financial stability for North Star which would then be self-sustaining after the changes.

But Thursday lawmakers and hospital leaders say the funding has stopped with Stefanik accusing the state of repeatedly delaying the financial steps necessary to complete this transformation.

“Despite achieving final milestones in collaboration with the DOH and federal regulatory agencies, financial support has stalled at a critical point. This transformational plan for the North Country is in jeopardy, clearly threatening Safety Net Hospitals, its employees and the patients who trust us for their care,” says Rich Duvall, President and CEO of North Star Health Alliance.

Stefanik, who is running for New York Governor, is calling on the state to release the promised funding immediately and added the state should “halt what appears to be deliberate delay tactics that have placed our North Country hospitals on the brink of crisis.”

“The Worst Governor in America, Kathy Hochul, is weaponizing her Department of Health to target, block funding, and close a rural hospital in my district to try to make a desperate political point,” Stefanik said.

Stefanik assures the North Country by saying, “I will be announcing significant funding at the federal level directly to save this hospital from Kathy Hochul’s abysmal and heartless leadership.”

Stefanik, along with State Senator Mark Walczyk and Assemblyman Scott Gray are calling for federal and state investigations into why the funding has stopped.

7NEWS has learned the state may be withholding funding as it asks more questions about how the financial support is used, but officials say the state “keeps moving the goal post.”

“Northstar Health Alliance has been a good faith partner, bending over backwards to provide Governor Hochul with the information her Department of Health has asked for. This withdrawal by Hochul to the transition plan and abandonment of rural healthcare is disgusting,” says Sen. Walczyk.

North Star Health Alliance runs the facilities in Ogdensburg along with Carthage Area Hospital and Meadowbrook Terrace, an assisted living facility in the Town of Champion. The are nearly 1700 employees total.

Assemblyman Scott Gray says the state’s “failure to act and meaningfully engage in this approved restructuring is a profound disservice to the North Country. Governor Hochul must direct her administration to resolve this situation immediately, release the promised support, and work with these hospitals to preserve jobs and safeguard access to healthcare for the communities they serve. The prospect of families being forced to move their loved ones out of Meadowbrook’s long-term care over the holidays, the thought of expecting mothers having to find new services, or the displacement of cancer treatment patients in the midst of treatment, and the list goes on, is inexcusable and underscores the urgency of action now.”

Assemblyman Ken Blankenbush, who represents Carthage and Champion, says, “Rural healthcare isn’t a budget line, it’s a lifeline and Albany must protect our hospitals before North Country families pay the price.”

7NEWS is reaching out to several state organizations for comment including the Department of Health and the Governor’s office. We’ll update this story once we hear from those officials.

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