OLEAN — Olean General Hospital and Bradford Regional Medical Center have received a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help make up for the loss of revenue during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021.
The USDA also announced a $268,900 grant to St. Stephen’s Episcopcal Church in Olean for renovations for an area for mental health counseling for residents of Cattaraugus and Allegany counties.
The Rural Emergency Health Care grants were part of $3 million in grants to Southern Tier counties announced Tuesday by Brian Murray, the USDA director for New York.
USDA is awarding $129 million in Emergency Rural Health Care Grants to improve health care facilities in rural towns across the nation. These grants will help 172 rural health care organizations expand critical services to 5 million people in 39 states.
At Olean General Hospital, the USDA grant will also apply to Bradford Regional, in a shared project with the USDA in Pennsylvania.
The $1 million grant will be used to help offset the revenue lost in 2021 due to lower volume of patients resulting in lower revenues for OGH and BRMC, which are affiliated with Kaleida Health.
“We’re excited to have the support of the US Department of Agriculture and be awarded this grant,” said Joseph Fuglewicz, director of marketing for Upper Allegheny Health System, which includes Olean General Hospital and Bradford Regional Medical Center. “Our administration’s focus over the course of the last year has been creating sustainable comprehensive quality healthcare for our region that serves over 140,000 people.“
Fuglewicz said, “We’ve had multiple wins over the course of the year with quality improvements, enhancing the patient experience, introducing new services and increasing the breadth of services available while creating a sustainable financial future for our healthcare system. This grant will help us continue to make equitable investments where they’re needed most and be able to continue to be the region’s healthcare provider of choice.”
“Supporting rural health care infrastructure is crucial to the safety, well-being and prosperity of our rural communities,” Murray said in a prepared statement.
“USDA Rural Development is committed to preserving access to care in rural communities,” State Director of Pennsylvania Bob Morgan said. “Rural towns are a gathering place where first responders put people’s safety first and hospitals care for everyone.”
The $268,900 USDA grant to St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church will be used to renovate the church’s Watson Ministry Center offices. The church uses the offices to facilitate mental health counseling services for residents of Cattaraugus and Allegheny counties.
Church officials did not return a call seeking comment before press time.