New York Awards $462 Million To Aid 22 Hospitals, Five Public Hospital Systems

According to recent reports, 22 hospitals and five large public hospital systems statewide will continue to provide key services thanks to funds of $462 million being provided by New York health officials.

The funds followed a federal agreement in April for New York to reinvest $8 billion in Medicaid savings to support hospital overhauls and expand primary medical care over five years. The goal is to reduce avoidable hospital use by 25 percent while helping financially struggling institutions shift to primary and outpatient care, an official release stated.

Come March of 2015, further funding from the Medicaid waiver will be available following another round of applications, state Health Department spokesman Bill Schwarz said. In this phase, authorities turned down two hospital requests for funding, concluding that they weren’t needed.

“This helps those institutions that are financially challenged or to help maintain operations as a bridge to get to larger funds," Schwarz said. "The goal is to achieve the triple aim of reducing costs, increasing access and improving quality."

St. James Mercy Hospital was awarded $6.4 million last month, according to the Evening Tribune, and CEO Jennifer Sullivan noted that St. James has already received an initial $1.2 million payment from the outlay.

“We are very pleased that our application has been approved," Sullivan told the Evening Tribune. "We have worked diligently in recent months with NYSDOH officials to preserve healthcare services in Hornell. This award of IAAF funding clearly demonstrates the commitment of the Department of Health to support rural healthcare delivery and the need to transform to a sustainable model of care.”

Among large public hospital systems, interim subsidies included $152.4 million for New York City Health and Hospitals Corp., $37.2 million for Nassau Health Care Corp. and $20.4 million to SUNY hospitals downstate, $15 million to SUNY hospitals upstate and $8.5 million to SUNY hospitals on Long Island.

Awards to 22 so-called safety net facilities included $53.4 million for Brookdale Hospital, $36.9 million for Interfaith Medical Center, $23.6 million for Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center, and $4.3 million for Wyckoff Heights Medical Center, all of which are in Brooklyn, New York.

Brookhaven Medical Center in Suffolk County was approved for $5.5 million and other downstate awards included $5.2 million for Nyack Hospital in Rockland County and $4.3 million for Bon Secours Charity Health in Orange County.

In northern New York, awards were $10.4 million to Carthage Area Hospital, $4.7 million to Lewis County General Hospital, $4.25 million to Massena Memorial Hospital, $2.5 million to Gouverneur Hospital, $2.2 million to Moses Ludington and $1.1 million to River Hospital.

In western New York, TLC Health Network was awarded $6.6 million and Wyoming County Community Health was awarded $1.9 million. Cuba Memorial was also awarded $3.35 million in western New York.

Additional grants included $3.6 million for Health Alliance in Ulster County and $287,000 for Rome Memorial in Oneida County.