New York putting $188 million toward cancer center

Photo: Cavan Images/Getty Images

New York State is investing in seven hospitals and healthcare partnerships, with preliminary approval part of the Healthcare Safety Net Transformation Program. This includes a $188 million investment in Jamaica Hospital and Memorial Sloan Kettering to establish a “Comprehensive Cancer Care Center of Queens.”

It also commits support for a partnership between St. Barnabas Hospital, Cityblock Health and Union Community Health Center, and to upgrade St. Barnabas’ Emergency Department, according to the Office of Governor Kathy Hochul.

Established in the FY25 Enacted Budget, the Healthcare Safety Net Transformation Program incentivizes partnership between safety net hospitals and health care organizations.

Through the program, the state is encouraging partnerships that provide strategic capital and operating support for safety-net institutions.

WHAT’S THE IMPACT

The comprehensive cancer center, part of the partnership between the Jamaica Hospital and Memorial Sloan Kettering, will establish a new Radiation and Infusion Therapy Campus at The Jamaica Hospital, officials said.

The goal is to help Jamaica Hospital provide comprehensive cancer care in Queens and refer identified patients to Memorial Sloan Kettering for advanced therapy or clinical trials.

Other efforts are planned as part of the transformation initiative. Glens Falls Hospital, in continued partnership with Albany Med Health System, will modernize the Glens Falls emergency department to improve care delivery and prepare for an expected growth in utilization in the next 10 to 15 years. Glens Falls will work with community-based organizations to ensure patients discharged from the emergency department are connected to appropriate resources, including the integration of social workers into the discharge process.

At the same time, through a partnership with Cityblock Health and Union Community Health Center, St. Barnabas Hospital will improve health outcomes and reduce unnecessary admissions and readmissions. And Montefiore New Rochelle Hospital will partner with Westchester Community Health Center, a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC), to strengthen the hospital’s Maternal Child Health program and improve the quality of maternal health care in Westchester.

Other initiatives include improving access to behavioral healthcare and reducing emergency department use in the North Country, and increasing the availability of emergency transportation and expanding and modernizing pharmacy operations at Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital.

THE LARGER TREND

Applications for the transformation program are ongoing, and will be reviewed and approved on an ongoing basis.

Since the demand for the program exceeded available funding during the initiative’s first year, the state will allocate additional resources to the program in FY26.

ON THE RECORD

“The strength of our hospitals is a reflection of the strength of our communities, and safety net hospitals play a critical role in providing quality health care to vulnerable populations,” said Governor Kathy Hochul. “Every person should have access to affordable, reliable health care regardless of the zip code they live in, and these investments will bring vital resources to underserved New Yorkers.”

“I visited nearly all these facilities, including St. Barnabas Hospital, the first hospital I visited as Health Commissioner, and I have seen firsthand the need for these partnerships. Safety net hospitals promote health equity and provide essential services to vulnerable communities,” said New York State Health Commissioner Dr. James V. McDonald. “I thank Governor Hochul for her commitment to improving the health of all New Yorkers.”

Jeff Lagasse is editor of Healthcare Finance News.
Email: jlagasse@himss.org
Healthcare Finance News is a HIMSS Media publication.