2008
HomeCNYHSA ANNUAL/NOVEMBER 2008 BOARD MEETING featured an address by Denise Young Executive Director of the Fort Drum Regional Health Planning Organization (FDRHPO): Building a Strong North Country Healthcare System. Ms. Young reviewed the history of Fort Drum and factors (e.g. local acute care overcapacity) which led to the development of its unique healthcare delivery model in the 1980s. This model uses a military-community partnership to augment the installation’s primary care capability with specialty care and inpatient services. The system now provides health services to over 38,000 military beneficiaries. FDRHPO was established due to growth of the Fort Drum base and dependent population, increased deployments (most-deployed in the US Army), pressures placed on community and military resources in responding to needs as overcapacity became a memory of the past, and recognition that a formal mechanism was needed to manage growth.
CNYHSA MAY, 2008 BOARD MEETING featured a panel on: Home Care in Central New York: Expansion and Resource Challenges. Panel members included: Sandra Martin, President/CEO, HomeAides of Central NY; Lynn Shannon, Home and Community-Based Program Manager, NYS Dept. of Health Regional Office; Mark Murphy, Vice President, Care Management and Ambulatory Services, St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center. The panel dialogue addressed existing resources; trends in client demographics, need and demand; systemic and environmental issues affecting client service delivery; and policy considerations for current and future operations. Also discussed was support for local health planning services included in the 2008-09 State budget. $7 million in HEAL NY funds will be targeted to efforts involving racial and ethnic health disparities, consumer needs and preferences for health care services, long term care needs, and the migration of hospital services to ambulatory care providers.
CNYHSA FEBRUARY, 2008 BOARD MEETING featured a presentation by Walter Becker, CEO, Carthage Area Hospital on the creation of the rural-based Jefferson-St. Lawrence Community Health Center in Philadelphia, NY as a Federally Qualified Health Center, under the US DHHS "New Access Point" grant program. Also reported on was the Nov. 2007 statewide conference, Avoiding the Next Berger Commission: The Role of Community Health Planning in New York State. Presenters addressed various aspects of planning. James Tallon, Jr., President, United Hospital Fund, spoke on reinvigorating Community Health Planning in New York State.
NEW SHORTAGE AREA DESIGNATIONS In 2007 and 2008, CNYHSA was successful in securing 12 federal Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA) designations. Primary Care HPSA’s were approved by US Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS) for: Rome and Camden in Oneida County, Hamilton in Madison County, Canton-Potsdam, Gouverneur, Ogdensburg, and Star Lake in St. Lawrence County, Carthage in Jefferson County, Auburn in Cayuga County. Jefferson, Hamilton, and Steuben counties were also designated as Mental Health HPSA's. These designations provide incentives for underserved areas in recruiting practitioners and in qualifying for federal and state grants.