On September 30, 2008, HEAL NY announced $280 million in grants to be used for statewide healthcare projects. According to New York Governor David A. Paterson, these awards will help improve access to health care in New York cities, towns, and villages and bring in smart investments to cut down on wasteful spending by funding the best solutions for healthcare in the state.
Out of the $280 million, the Phase 6 HEAL NY awards will make $100 million available to provide primary and community-based care. The funding will go to non-profit clinics, local health departments, and to hospitals to expand access to primary care services at main sites and satellite clinics.
Golisano Children’s Hospital’s Health-e-Access program received $500,000 and will use the funding to serve residents in Rochester’s poorest neighborhoods by using more telemedicine technologies to diagnose and treat common childhood illnesses. This includes using mobile technology to serve additional school and childcare-based telemedicine sites.
In addition, the grant will allow Health-e-Access to include after hours care through two inner city neighborhood-based sites. When parents call their children’s physicians after hours and reach the existing Rochester Community Pediatric Telephone Triage System, they will have an additional choice to use telemedicine at a conveniently located site in their immediate neighborhood.
Several other Phase 6 awards involving technology include:
- Samaritan Medical Center in Central New York ($500,000) will link Samaritan Family Health Centers using electronic health records
- Tri-County Family Medicine Program, Inc. in Central New York ($983,110) will apply HIT to quality primary healthcare
- Ezras Choilim Health Center, Inc. in the Hudson Valley ($613,993) will upgrade their medical records system
- The Westchester Institute for Human Development in the Hudson Valley ($363,064) will apply telemedicine to enhance primary care
- Brownsville Community Development Corporation in New York City ($5,000,000) will develop a 21st century medical home in Central Brooklyn
- ODA Primary Health Care Center, Inc. in New York City ($500,000) will expand ambulatory care and develop health IT projects
