Schumer, Clinton Announce Key Senate Panel Prioritizes Funding For The Fort Edward Health Center

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Schumer, Clinton Announce Key Senate Panel Prioritizes Funding For The Fort Edward Health Center

U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Hillary Rodham Clinton today announced that the full Senate Appropriations Committee has approved the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies FY08 Appropriations Bill, which includes the Fort Edward Health Center as a project to be considered for funding from Rural Housing Service (RHS), Department Of Agriculture at a later time. The bill will now proceed to the Senate Floor as the next step in the appropriations process. Schumer and Clinton worked closely with members of the Appropriations Committee to include the project in this year's spending bill.

"This is great news for Washington County," said Schumer. "Every community deserves to have local health care facilities so that patients don't have to travel long distances to receive the care they need. This green light from the Committee signifies that the project has cleared a significant hurdle. We are now a giant step closer to making the Fort Edward Health Center a reality."

"This is wonderful news for everyone in Fort Edward and especially for those who are most in need. This funding will enable the establishment of a local Health Center in Fort Edward to better serve our working families and elderly citizens," Senator Clinton said. "As the only Federally Qualified Health Center in Washington County, this new facility will serve several communities, eliminating the burden of traveling long distances to receive quality health care."

The Committee has designated Fort Edward Health Center as a project to be given consideration for funding by RHS. This new facility would serve many communities throughout the county including the Town of Fort Edward, the Village of Hudson Falls, and the Town of Kingsbury. Currently, no Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) exists in Washington County. Medicaid and uninsured patients are forced to travel to neighboring Warren and Saratoga counties to receive care, while those who cannot travel are subject to long waits in the region's overburdened emergency rooms.

In the past 12 months, Hudson Headwaters health centers in adjacent counties have received more than 30,000 patient visits from residents of Washington County towns, with nearly 24,000 from Fort Edward and Hudson Falls residents - more indication that the region is in need of a new facility. Currently, 25.9 percent of Fort Edward's population and 32.9 percent of Hudson Falls live below 200% of the poverty level. The area also has a higher than average elderly population. The Fort Edward Health Center would become part of Hudson Headwaters Health Network, a Section 330 Federally Qualified Health Center directly meeting the charge of Health and Human Services to provide access to primary care for indigent Americans including the uninsured and those living in rural areas.

Now that the bill has been approved by the full Senate Appropriations Committee, it will be sent to the Senate floor. Following approval by the Senate, the bill will move towards Conference with the House and then to the President for signature.

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