B-Roll, Video, Audio, Photos & Rush Transcript: As Washington Republicans Threaten Future of Healthcare, Governor Hochul Secures Significant Funding for Hudson Valley Hospital System

Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul traveled to Westchester Medical Center (WMC) to highlight the transformative investments the state is making in hospitals and health care partnerships that serve vulnerable patients across New York. The Governor was joined by Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart Cousins on a tour of Westchester Medical Center where they announced that WMC will receive up to $100 million as part of the Department of Health’s Safety Net Transformation Program. The funding will be used to support the full integration of Bon Secours Charity Health System and Health Alliance of the Hudson Valley into the WMCHealth network, seamlessly streamlining operations across the system to enhance quality of care and better support patient needs. The announcement comes as the federal government has approved legislation and pushed policies that would result in massive cuts to health care and jeopardize critical services.

B-ROLL: B-Roll is available to stream on YouTube here and TV quality video is available here (h.264, mp4).

VIDEO: The event is available to stream on YouTube here and TV quality video is available here (h.264, mp4).

AUDIO: The Governor's remarks are available in audio form here.

PHOTOS: The Governor's Flickr page will have photos of the event available here.

A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:

 Good afternoon. Morning. Morning, we're just a few minutes away from afternoon.

What an extraordinary place this is. I am in awe of what I just witnessed on an incredible tour simulation of how the incredibly dedicated professionals here saved the life of a 17-year-old. How we met a little girl who's recovering from sickle cell anemia, and just a chance to see the attention given to even the technology and creating a more warm, nurturing experience for patients with the sense of empathy that you have for people come in through the doors and there's a lot of fear and anxiety and everything that you've done, even in radiology to just dial back the fears, just shows that this is a really rather unique place. And I sense that. I've been to many hospitals. And I've been here before, but leadership also matters.

And I'm fortunate to have a leader in government who's been my partner, our Majority Leader, that's literally her title, Andrea Stewart-Cousins, who represents this region, and who is very compassionate about making sure we support our hospital. So, I want to thank her for joining us here today. And our County Executive, Ken Jenkins, we've been through a lot together and your leadership is important at this time and we're facing a lot of incoming from Washington and elsewhere, and I appreciate your strong stewardship. And also Dr. David Lubarsky, again coming here just months ago and to have come here with that sense, a breath of fresh air and revitalization – a spirit of renewal that perhaps places need after some time. And I think you've delivered that as well. And I also want to thank our Chairman here as well for his many years of service and all the elected officials who've joined here and the professional staff.

It is humbling to come to a place like this because you feel like I'm a mere mortal when I'm walking through seeing what these super humans are able to do, to really bring life back from the clutches of death. And that's what goes on here every day. And as a Governor, I just want you to know, I don't take that for granted. You're taking care of the people that I care about as well. So, this is a collective effort for us to support you in what you're doing for our citizens and our residents. So, it's a privilege to be here.

And what we're also talking about here is renewal, revitalization, rebirth into collaborations because healthcare has become very expensive and we could no longer count on Washington to do what's right as we're trying to figure out how to manage a $3 billion deficit, our hospitals are receiving much higher cuts. We're looking at, starting in November, people all across the country, but here in New York are going to find that what they thought was a healthcare premium that was expensive, but maybe I can budget for it – a family making $80,000, their insurance premium is capped at about 8,000 and they're going to find out it's closer to $24,000. And there'll be people who just say, “I can't do that. I will have to go out without health insurance for myself and my family.” And that is not the New York that we thought was going to be here. We fought hard against that. We believe in the dignity of health care and access to health care, and the federal government does not share those values. They indiscriminately cut. So, that's a real collateral effect that is going to be felt in a month. They think they cleverly pushed off some of the worst cuts on Medicaid to after the election next year. But this is one that's creeping up on us now. And even now we're cutting – with the State Legislature support, my administration is trying to find ways to make up for $750 million in cuts immediately following the passage of the Big Ugly Bill in Washington.

So, this is a real stress point on our healthcare system and in our state overall. So, what we can do is find ways to then collaborate and bring together healthcare systems. But that sounds better in concept, but there actually has to be money to make that happen. And I can't count on the systems to always have, just pull it out of your reserves or take it out of your patient care, or certainly not the salaries of our professionals. You need extra help right? And so that's what today is about, this alignment for institutions that serve the Hudson Valley – Westchester Medical Center, the Health Alliance of the Hudson Valley and Bon Secours Charity Health System and taking a further step to stabilize and not just stabilize, but also to let people know that we are here for the, we're going the distance. This is enduring. This is a commitment now that is going to put us in a better position to be here for many many years to come because the lifesaving care you provide is vital for the residents of not just Westchester, but Orange, Dutchess, Ulster, Delaware. I'm sure you'll hear from Dr. Lubarsky He's very proud of – he'll tell you geographically, this is the only level one trauma center between here and Rochester, is that what you were saying? [...] But pediatric, he said. But the pediatric work you're doing here. [...] Pediatric would be Rochester then.

So, I'm proud to say that I want to be part of the solution. Leaders want to be part of the solution and that's why we're here today to announce $100 million toward that effort to help you – fully merge the systems. Fully merge them. And with those resources, you'll streamline operations and communications across the systems. And this is again, this is part of a $2.6 billion initiative. This was not an inexpensive proposition, but we looked at this opportunity, this moment in time to say a holistic, global perspective, all of our healthcare systems. And I think there's very few that are just saying that, “We're doing just fine. We don't need your help.” [...] Especially our safety net hospitals, our safety net hospitals in particular. So, $2.6 billion statewide and identifying those who are enlightened enough to come forward with a path. And others, you're not just going to get a check, it’s like what are you doing to streamline and to consolidate and to utilize resources of each other and not have unnecessary duplication? Can you present a plan that is smart and forward thinking? And if you succeed with that, then we'll fund it. And that's why you succeeded so well. And that's why you're the recipients of $100 million. And we're going to be able to expand services for high risk pregnancy patients and modernized mental health units, connect 930 primary care providers with 60 locations across the Hudson Valley. So, you're basically saying, we're going to be there to take care of people. That's all I needed to know. Do you have a plan? Yes. Then we'll fund it because I have enormous confidence in the leadership here and all of you put this together.

So, proud to have a state that actually puts people's healthcare first. We actually care about the dignity of each other, care about each other as neighbors and friends and community. And during this time we don't seem to have that from Washington. We're going to have to do even more, and that's what this state is all about. And so it is a happy day. I am trying to be happy because I had to deal with Washington. [...] I'll just focus on the beautiful geography of New York. Within the confines of New York, we're doing the right thing. We're doing the right thing, and we will manage and we are resilient and we will get through these difficult times because we're never going to lose sight of who we are. We are driven by values. We care about each other. We take care of people in their time of need. So, I thank all of you for bringing forth a vision to help us execute that.

And with that, let me introduce our Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, who also acknowledged our elected officials from the State Legislature who joined us here today.