Four North Country health care providers have received millions of dollars in federal funding to upgrade electronic health care records, fund telemedicine programs, and purchase new equipment. It will also reimburse hospitals for revenue lost at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The funding was allocated through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Emergency Rural Health Care program, which was established as part of the American Rescue Plan and provides funding to help broaden access to COVID-19 testing and vaccines, health care services, and food assistance in rural communities. This funding will allow six North Country health care providers to upgrade electronic health care records, fund telemedicine programs, and purchase new equipment. It will also reimburse hospitals for revenue lost at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The recipients include:

Gouverneur Hospital - $10,000,000 for electronic health care record upgrade and training/staffing.

St. Lawrence Health System - $1,000,000 for reimburse for health care-related lost revenue used to maintain capacity during the coronavirus pandemic.

Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center - $857,067 for reimburse for health care-related lost revenue used to maintain capacity during the coronavirus pandemic.

River Hospital - $778,490 to reimburse for health care-related lost revenue used to maintain capacity during the coronavirus pandemic and electronic health care record upgrade.

The Emergency Rural Health Care Grant Program provides up to $500M in grant funding for eligible facilities. The funding comes from two tracks: track one focuses on recovery, providing relief to address the economic conditions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, and track two focuses on impact, advancing ideas to support the future and sustainability of rural health care.