Local Input for Community Healthcare Act vetoed

Posted 12/31/69

NEW YORK STATE — Gov. Kathy Hochul vetoed a bill—the Local Input for Community Healthcare Act—that would have required local community input before a hospital or hospital unit …

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Local Input for Community Healthcare Act vetoed

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NEW YORK STATE — Gov. Kathy Hochul vetoed a bill—the Local Input for Community Healthcare Act—that would have required local community input before a hospital or hospital unit closes. The bill, intended to offer greater transparency and ensure local voices are heard, passed in the Senate and Assembly.

The bill was delivered to the governor on December 2 and vetoed on December 13. According to the governor’s veto memo, the bill did not strike the right balance between its intended purposes and the “financial reality that struggling hospitals face and changes in healthcare service delivery.” Hochul said that she would direct the Department of Health to amend existing closure procedures. 

This year, Sullivan County residents have urged the only hospital operator in the county, Garnet Health, for more transparency. The OB unit is no longer in operation and residents have said services and providers at the hospital are shrinking. The hospital’s president debunked rumors that the hospital has plans to close but did say Garnet Health is weighing costs of renovations to the hospital or potentially moving and/or building another one.

Information compiled by Ruby Rayner-Haselkorn.

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