Today, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand announced $14,408,723 in federal funding for rural health care providers in the North Country. The funding was allocated through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Emergency Rural Health Care program, which was established as part of the American Rescue Plan and provides funding to help broaden access to COVID-19 testing and vaccines, health care services, and food assistance in rural communities. This funding will allow six North Country health care providers to upgrade electronic health care records, fund telemedicine programs, and purchase new equipment. It will also reimburse hospitals for revenue lost at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“From the North Country to the Southern Tier, Upstate New York’s rural hospitals and healthcare providers heroically stepped up during the pandemic, ripping holes in their budgets while experiencing significant revenue loss. This over $14 million boost is the shot in the arm our rural areas need to accelerate their economic recovery, develop new telemedicine programs, and keep our communities safe,” said Senator Schumer. “When I led the American Rescue Plan to passage I made sure our front line health care systems would get the support they need and I am proud to deliver this funding to give our frontline heroes the financial support they need to keep saving lives.”
“North Country hospitals incurred enormous costs fighting at the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Senator Gillibrand. “This funding will help reimburse some of those costs and help ensure that rural hospitals can continue to operate and provide thousands of North Country residents with continued access to care. It will also help hospitals continue to develop crucial telemedicine programs and purchase desperately needed new equipment. I’m proud to have fought to pass the American Rescue Plan to provide over $16 million in federal funding for these hospitals and I’ll keep fighting to ensure that our hospitals and our dedicated health care workers have the support they need to continue saving lives.”
A full list of recipients is below:
|
Recipient |
Amount |
Purpose |
|
Gouverneur Hospital |
$10,000,000 |
Electronic health care record upgrade and training/staffing |
|
Lewis County General Hospital |
$1,000,000 (Awarded in April 2022) |
Reimburse for health care-related lost revenue used to maintain capacity during the coronavirus pandemic |
|
St. Lawrence Health System |
$1,000,000 |
Reimburse for health care-related lost revenue used to maintain capacity during the coronavirus pandemic |
|
Carthage Area Hospital |
$773,166 |
Reimburse for health care-related lost revenue used to maintain capacity during the coronavirus pandemic |
|
Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center |
$857,067 |
Reimburse for health care-related lost revenue used to maintain capacity during the coronavirus pandemic |
|
River Hospital |
$778,490 |
Reimburse for health care-related lost revenue used to maintain capacity during the coronavirus pandemic and electronic health care record upgrade |
The Emergency Rural Health Care Grant Program provides up to $500M in grant funding for eligible facilities. The funding comes from two tracks: track one focuses on recovery, providing relief to address the economic conditions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, and track two focuses on impact, advancing ideas to support the future and sustainability of rural health care.