More than $28 million in rural health funding is heading to the Catskills region. 

The effort is part of a $76 million Rural Community Health Integration Initiative that will distribute 90 awards to 56 organizations across New York state.

“By investing in partnerships, infrastructure and the healthcare workforce, we are building a stronger, more sustainable rural health care system that will serve New Yorkers for generations to come.” said Governor Kathy Hochul in a press statement, who announced the initiative on Sept. 4.

New York’s Department of Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said that this is the first of five years of the Rural Community Health Integration Initiative and is hopeful that the state will be able to secure funding in the future. 

Dr. Douglas Fish, Deputy Commissioner of Office of Health Care Delivery, said that New York state is working to move funding out the door as quickly as possible.

“We worked with our colleagues in the Governor’s Office and the Budget [Office] and our legislative colleagues to get notwithstanding state finance law language that enables us to help to clear some of those administrative hurdles, so that we can streamline or award processes and executive and get the dollars out quicker,” said Fish.

Funded projects include improving care transitions for patients with mental illnesses or substance use disorders and addressing the healthcare workforce shortage. It can be used for both planning or implementation activities to improve care coordination, strengthen regional healthcare networks, and increase service access. 

The initiative is a $50 billion federal program from federal fiscal year 2026 through 2030 that provides funding to rural hospitals, health centers, and providers.

“The Trump Administration’s Rural Health Transformation Program is helping states like New York develop innovative, locally driven solutions to improve rural Americans’ access to high-quality care,” said Dr. Mehmet Oz, U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator in a statement. “These grant awards demonstrate how this historic investment is empowering rural communities to strengthen their health systems, put patients first, and bring better care closer to home.”

More than $28.5 million will be allocated to counties in the Catskills, including Sullivan, Orange, Delaware, Greene, and Columbia counties.

• Care Compass Collaborative, $3,350,000.00, Broome Chemung Chenango Cortland Delaware Otsego Schuyler Steuben Tioga Tompkins counties
  
• Cayuga Medical Center, $2,589,386.00, Broome Chemung Chenango Cortland Delaware Otsego Schuyler Steuben Tioga Tompkins counties
  
• Guthrie Cortland Medical Center, $1,848,105.00, Broome Chemung Chenango Cortland Delaware Otsego Schuyler Steuben Tioga Tompkins counties
  
• Greenport Rescue Squad, $312,035.67, Columbia County
  
• Columbia Memorial Hospital, $1,775,325, Columbia and Greene counties
  
• Margaretville Memorial Hospital, $1,000,000, Delaware County
  
• Coordinated Behavioral Health Services, $926,755.00, Dutchess Orange Putnam Sullivan Ulster counties
  
• Northern Dutchess Hospital, $224,675.00, Dutchess Ulster Columbia counties
  
• Montefiore St. Luke’s Cornwall, $400,000, Orange County
  
• Bassett Medical Center, $3,122,644.00, Otsego Delaware Herkimer Madison Montgomery Oneida Schoharie counties
  
• Putnam Hospital, $1,251,694, Putnam and Ulster counties
  
• ODA Primary Health Care Network, $2,687,998, Sullivan County
  
• Refuah Health Center, $3,500,000, Sullivan County
  
• Ellenville Regional Hospital, $3,000,000, Ulster County
  
• Ellenville Regional Hospital, $500,000, Ulster County
  
• HealthAlliance of the Hudson Valley, $1,070,688, Ulster County
  
• Institute for Family Health, $699,350.94, Ulster County