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North Country Hospitals Working Together To Save Money

Story Published: Nov 15, 2011 at 5:59 PM EDT

Story Updated: Nov 15, 2011 at 7:30 PM EDT

With health care getting more and more expensive, north country hospitals are getting a strong nudge from the State Commissioner of Health.

"He's saying, 'Take a look at your situation and see if there are things you can do together to improve the health care situation,'" said Ben Moore, chief executive officer of River Hospital in Alexandria Bay.

Six hospitals in Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties have now formed a group.

There've been two meetings among their CEOs the past two weeks to start laying the groundwork for more cooperation.

"I think whenever you can get together with a neighboring hospital and either consolidate services or share services, that's a good thing," said Chuck Conole, CEO of EJ Noble Hospital in Gouverneur.

Meanwhile, the State Health department is paying for a new study on health services in the north country.

"It'll help us look at what the current health issues are for our region, what the current services are that are available and see just what potential deficits are out there," said Moore.

This isn't a mandate, but the health commissioner has made it clear he'll be checking back a year from now and expects to see some progress.
Monday, May 21, 2012
, Watertown, NY

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