Courtesy Glens Falls Hospital
Glens Falls Hospital will receive $19.95 million in state funding through the Department of Health’s Statewide Health Care Facility Transformation Program to create an integrated, patient-centered Medical Village on the main hospital campus.
The award, announced in July by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, is believed to be the largest public or private grant in the hospital’s history, officials said. It was also the largest Transformation Program grant awarded in the Capital and North Country regions, and the fourth largest in the state.
The grant is part of $28.7 million given by the state to support five projects officials said will protect and transform the Capital Region’s health care system.
“Now, more than ever, we need to protect health care in New York and ensure the system in place is meeting the needs of current and future generations of New Yorkers,” Gov. Cuomo said. “While others seek to decimate our hospitals and reduce access to quality healthcare, we are investing to help ensure a stronger, healthier New York for all.”
The Medical Village at Glens Falls Hospital refers to bringing together a wide range of outpatient medical services in one location, improving accessibility and coordination of care for patients, and communication and coordination between healthcare providers, officials said.
At the hospital, the “village” will be housed in a new medical pavilion offering primary care, with integrated behavioral health services; urgent care; advanced diagnostics; specialty ambulatory detoxification services to support individuals during a substance abuse crisis through the provision of treatment, prevention and linkages with community resources; and advanced telemedicine capabilities allowing for more effective and efficient communications between the hospital and other healthcare providers.
The hospital also plans to re-locate its Emergency Department to the new pavilion to ensure coordinated care and access to all outpatient services.
“Glens Falls Hospital is both thrilled and humbled to receive this funding through the Statewide Health Care Facility Transformation Program,” said Glens Falls Hospital President and CEO Dianne Shugrue. “It is an incredible investment in our organization and, more importantly, in our regional community. Establishing an integrated outpatient service center will truly be transformative, ensuring that more individuals have access to evidence-based, coordinated, patient-centered care, and improving the cost-efficiency of essential services provided by the hospital.”
“This is all about delivering high quality care in the right setting, at the right time, at the appropriate cost,” Shugrue added.
Preliminary plans call for the new building to be constructed adjacent to the hospital’s west entrance. Designs for the building and a total project cost have not yet been completed.
The Statewide Health Care Facility Transformation Program is intended to strengthen and protect continued access to health care services in communities throughout New York State. Funding for these grants was authorized in the 2017-18 budget.
The program is administered by the Department of Health and the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York and will help support the objectives of the Delivery System Reform Incentive Program.
State officials said the purpose of the program is to reduce health care costs and improve the health outcomes of New Yorkers by expanding access to inpatient, primary, preventative and other ambulatory care services as part of regionally integrated healthcare delivery systems.