Washington, DC - Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) today announced that he's secured House approval of $1 million for two local hospitals and a dental health initiative to make capital upgrades that will improve the quality of their care and expand the scope of local health services.  The funds will go to the Sullivan County Dental Health Project ($400,000), Kingston/Benedictine Hospitals ($300,000), and Catskill Regional Medical Center ($300,000).  The congressman requested the funds as part of the fiscal year 2010 Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations bill.

"This federal funding will enable these important local health care providers to improve the quality of care they provide to patients across the Hudson Valley and Catskill regions," Hinchey said. "Through this appropriation of funding, we will be able to expand dental care in Sullivan County to those who need it most and revitalize the emergency room at the county's hospital.  The funds will also help to provide  quality dialysis services in Ulster County.  This $1 million in federal funding will benefit a significant number of people in our region, and I am pleased to have secured it."

The Sullivan County Dental Health Project, a non-profit partnership of Hudson River HealthCare and the PRASAD Children's Dental Health Program, will use the funding to increase access to dental health care services for low-income adults and children in Sullivan County.  The money will help pay for new dental chairs and equipment at the Hudson River HealthCare Clinic in Monticello and also help to upgrade or replace the PRASAD Program's aging mobile dental clinic that serves school children throughout Sullivan County and parts of Ulster County.

In order to prevent duplicative services at Kingston and Benedictine Hospitals now that the two are merging, the facilities are undergoing a series of consolidation activities.  The funds Hinchey secured will help pay for the consolidation of the Inpatient Acute Dialysis Unit in an effort to pave the way for the consolidation of the Intensive Care Units onto The Kingston Hospital campus.  

Catskill Regional Medical Center will use the funds Hinchey secured for its emergency room (ER) expansion and renovation project.  The current ER was originally designed in 1977 and in need of a major overhaul.  The ER was designed to treat 17,000 patients annually, but currently provides 26,000 patients with care.  The construction project will expand ER facility beds from 13 to 20 and is expected to provide 80 local construction jobs.

The Senate now needs to take up its own version of the fiscal year 2010 Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations bill.