New York’s Health Commissioner was in northern New York on Monday to announce a federal grant that will help a health clinic in a small town expand and treat more patients.
The first Federally Qualified Health Center in Clinton County was dedicated Monday by Clinton County officials, Health Commissioner Nirav Shah and the head of Hudson Headwaters, a non-profit health care network that the clinic has joined. The permanent federal funding that the Champlain Health Center received will also benefit 27 other clinics across NY that are members of the Hudson Headwaters network. Community Health Care Association of NYS CEO Elizabeth Swain said they worked to assure that funds went to communities that are “off the beaten track”.
NY Health Commissioner Dr. Nirav Shah called the network and the efforts being made in Champlain a model that guarantees health care for a rural community.
The Champlain Health Center once had three physicians, but two have retired, leaving one doctor, 2 nurse practitioners and between 5 and 6-thousand patients. It’s only physician, Dr. Maurice Racine, hopes the grant and affiliation with Hudson Headwaters will allow the clinic to grow and attract new physicians to the rural community.
Community Health Care Centers provide primary and preventative health care services to over 1.4 million New Yorkers.
