Clifton-Fine Hospital plans big upgrades with $16M grant

STAR LAKE, New York (WWNY) - It’s the most money Clifton-Fine Hospital has been awarded - $16 million in a single grant. It’s money for big upgrades at this small hospital.

“This is a hospital that was built in 1949, and it has had very little infrastructure upgrades throughout the years,” said hospital CEO Dierdra Sorrell.

Infrastructure upgrades are a need that became more apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“As we really looked at the things that were needed through COVID, like isolation and negative pressure, and all those things that helped us get through that pandemic, we did the very best we could with what we had, but we need those systems in place to be prepared for whatever the future brings,” said Sorrell.

Tucked away in Star Lake in the Adirondacks, the 20-bed hospital competed with hundreds of other hospitals across the state for the funding. In the end, it got it: $16 million.

“We feel pretty fortunate that we got it,” said Sorrell.

She says with the funding, the hospital will look towards the future when creating a more fully-realized plan for the infrastructure.

“The strategy behind the next, ‘What does Clifton-Fine look like in the future,’ is what will really determine what we’ll use the money for,” said Sorrell.

As plans continue for the $16 million grant, the hospital is set to use a smaller grant from the same program. Awarded in 2019, the $4.6 million will go towards building a new emergency room with double the beds.

Halted because of COVID-19 and high construction costs, emergency room nurse Phil Royce is excited to get the ball rolling.

“Medicine is medicine, and patient care is patient care. I think we do an excellent job here, but having a bigger space would allow us to do that even better,” he said.

You’ll likely see some work being done at Clifton-Fine Hospital by this summer. The hope is the projects can be done simultaneously and completed in the next four years.

Copyright 2023 WWNY. All rights reserved.