Medina hospital will use state funds for capital projects, debt relief

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 8 March 2016 at 12:00 am

Photos by Tom Rivers – Medina Memorial Hospital, pictured today on Ohio Street, will be the focus of capital projects, including a lobby and emergency department renovations.

MEDINA – The $6.2 million announced for Medina Memorial Hospital and its parent organization, Orleans Community Health, will reduce the hospital’s debt and allow capital projects to move forward.

Gov. Cuomo on Friday announced $6,275,528 was approved for Orleans Community Health. The funding is part of $1.5 billion for 162 health-related projects state-wide.

Orleans Community Health plans to use $2,691,329.40 for debt relief and $3,584,198.60 for capital projects, said Wendy Jacobson, president and CEO of Orleans Community Health.

The debt relief funds will go towards paying off loans, including mortgages for the hospital and a health care center that opened in 2012 on Butts Road in Albion. The state funds will also go towards repaying loans from the hospital’s foundation, and a loan from the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York.

For the capital projects, Orleans County Health is planning to renovate the hospital’s lobby and emergency department. It is also working on a new project to increase outpatient services, and a co-located primary care and behavioral health site that follows guidelines through the state’s Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP) Program. DSRIP is the main mechanism that the state uses to implement the Medicaid Redesign Team Waiver Amendment.

Jacobson said Orleans Community Health has 180 days to submit the Certificate of Need to the state Department of Health for the capital projects.

Some of the state funds will be used to pay off debt for building the health care site at the corner of Butts Road and Route 31 in Albion. The site opened in November 2012.