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The Legislation: ONEIDA COUNTY HEALTH CARE FACILITY TRANSFORMATION PROGRAM

That's the title of the New York State Assembly legislation that has become the basis of the "New Utica Hospital" saga. Much talk (probably years) preceded this funding act. Yet it became very real as part of Assembly Bill A6721A that was signed by Governor Cuomo during the 2015-2016 legislative session.

Reading in part...

"THE PROGRAM SHALL PROVIDE CAPITAL FUNDING IN SUPPORT OF PROJECTS LOCATED IN THE LARGEST POPULATION CENTER IN ONEIDA COUNTY THAT CONSOLIDATE MULTIPLE LICENSED HEALTH CARE FACILITIES INTO AN INTEGRATED SYSTEM OF CARE."

Specifically, you may read section "§ 2825-b": "Oneida county health care facility transformation program: Oneida county project. 1. An Oneida county health care facility transformation program is hereby established under the joint administration of the commissioner and the president of the dormitory authority of the state of New York for the purpose of strengthening and protecting continued access to health care services in communities." Read Complete Section Here

April 18, 2016 - No Reason to Build Downtown Hospital: If only logic was the measure, then this wise writer would be correct...

So have local and state government officials, which have failed to fix Upstate's/Utica's economy, resorted to a fake economic development project? Are they seeking a huge sum of tax dollars for hospital construction in hopes of fooling residents that there's great prosperity at hand?

April 6, 2016 - The Costs for Fiasco General are Unknown - Over a year, and yet only now they're starting to look at what it would take to relocate 40+ businesses? They report they don't know what buildings and blocks are to be used, per today's headline story in the Utica Observer-Dispatch: East Utica Site May Be New Home For Businesses Of Ousted By Hospital...

This only further confirms, "Fiasco General" is alive and well in the minds of our regional/state political and hospital leadership. They told us last weekend that they found the "costs to be comparable at the two locations", however the city says they have "no idea of costs to relocate businesses", nor even what city property would be used - these comments clearly do not match-up!

Yet these same people are planning what they tout to become an Oneida County Healthcare Facility Transformation? They're off to an awful start. This Oneida County hospital situation tends to reminds us the Affordable Care Act, it's huge promises, but how the government's Healthcare.gov Botched $600 Million.

March 11, 2016 - Per NYS Senator David J Valesky: Senate & Assembly budgets to restore $300 million for new hospital in Oneida County. Senator Valesky goes onto say...

“As a Central New York senator who also serves as Vice Chair of the Senate Health Committee, I have made restoration of the $300 million commitment to the Mohawk Valley Health System a high budget priority. I am pleased that working together with my colleagues in the Legislature, we have been able to restore these important funds in the legislative budget resolutions. Our singular focus now turns to including this critical appropriation in the final budget agreement with the administration.”

If this is such a critical healthcare appropriation, why is it taking so long? Why is it a new hospital and why downtown? If our regional healthcare is in critical need of $300 million, why has it become mixed up with and touted as "economic development"? So many unanswered questions. So much sloppy thinking, especially since we've never found an urban hospital that has revitalized a downtown neighborhood.

February 21, 2016 - FINALLY they admit it; The new downtown Utica hospital is NOT about healthcare!

“The MVHS Board of Directors supported a downtown site location because it can be a catalyst for economic growth in our region and could help spur additional development as we embark on the area’s newest venture with nanotechnology.”

Let’s decode this statement:

Perra says, “it can be”, but you should read, ”but there’s NO guarantee”

Perra says, “a catalyst for economic growth in our region”, but you should read: “a transfer of the Utica-area’s healthcare economy into a compact downtown Utica footprint, [not “the region”, he’s just wrong and fishing for buy-in]” And that growth (if they do go downtown), would leave an equal amount of vacancies in South Utica and around St. Luke’s. Let’s add these to the large number of lots, vacant buildings and left-for-dead industrial parcels.

Perra says, “could help spur additional development”, you should read ”again, NO guarantee”

Perra says, ““as we embark on the area’s newest venture with nanotechnology”, we suggest a correction to: It’s not “new” the region has been working to lure "chipfab" for about 15 years. Now GE brings 19 jobs to Quad-C, taxpayers just sent up another $100M and we’re still not shipping product and creating any income. AMS promises more jobs, but the funding is almost entirely on the taxpayer’s backs. And now we can go further into debt for a new hospital that will wipe-out a sizable portion of our Erie-canal past.

Wow, a 34-acre hospital district! Better make room for the tour buses, people are going to want to see that!

Did Perra get his wording wrong? The legislation that won $300M was requested by our Assemblyman for a "Oneida County Healthcare Facility Transformation”. Now Perra uses, “create an integrated healthcare delivery system in Oneida County.” Guess they’ve just toned-down the rhetoric in the budget language. Perhaps we lost the $300M* as Cuomo's holding-out, not for something "integrated", but a powerful “transformation”?

*Actually, Utica did not miss-out entirely on the $300M. This as Governor Cuomo and MVEDGE slipped $100M of these very important healthcare dollars up to SUNY Poly/Marcy nanocenter - for that amazing job generator that's just not yet kicking - long live our "Nano Promise".

Are we allowed to ask again... "Where is a side-by-side comparison of taxpayer dollars vs. private dollars spent on "chipfab/nano" over the last 10-15 years in the Mohawk Valley?"

As the following link, and comment from 1998 reveal, the Utica-Rome region has been chasing jobs for a long time, and our economic reality of job seekers has not improved.

On March 4, 1998 - Governor George E. Pataki announced that SUNY Utica/Rome was among the 13 sites across the state selected by Industrial Design Corporation,

a consultant hired to provide a professional evaluation of potential sites, as the best suited for semi-conductor development. (PDF)

February 17, 2016 - The news is not the news! Our local leaders report in today's newspaper, "there's no money in the state budget, as the Governor Cuomo hasn't returned the promised $300M"

The story misses the point. We have to wonder, "Just who's paying attention to what's going on in the upstate economy?" The plan to site the hospital downtown is not about healthcare. It's an Albany-backed effort to make it appear that downtown Utica and the regional Mohawk Valley economy is healthy. Albany wants to see construction cranes in the sky lifting-up a 7-8 story medical and hospital district. There are many examples of these "investments" that occur out of the regular state budget and out of sight from taxpayers. Consider "SPENDING IN THE SHADOWS: DISCRETIONARY FUNDING IN THE NYS BUDGET" (PDF link):

A report that states: "The New York State budget is the definitive statement of the state’s fiscal priorities. Unfortunately, there are elements of the budget that are inscrutable, decided behind closed doors by a handful of political leaders, and beyond the reach of the public. In particular, large, unspecific pots of state funds are put into the budget legislation year after year in which decisions about spending purposes and recipients are deferred and go undisclosed. These ‘lump sum funds’ have grave consequences for transparency and present a risk for corruption."

And continues, "For the purposes of this report, lump sums funds are defined as pots of funding that are authorized to be spent through the Capital Budget and Aid to Localities Budget which are not sufficiently itemized, lacking a detailed break-down of where the funds will be spent, and are spent at the discretion of one or more of the following state elected officials: the Governor, any or all Senators (typically the Temporary President or Majority Leader), any or all Assembly Members (typically the Speaker), and the Attorney General."

Also read an August 2015 North County Public Radio (NCPR) story titled "Watchdog group says Cuomo, NY legislature, using "slush fund" for projects" that reads:

"The fund, known as the non-controversial sounding State Municipal Facility Program, was part of the 2013 budget. Bonds were issued through the semi-independent entity the State Dormitory Authority, for $385 million dollars, and the money was supposed to finance upgrades to government owned properties, such as repairs to village halls or state roads. That definition was expanded in 2014 to include economic development projects, and the fund was increased to the present $1.1 billion."

January 25, 2016

NYS SENATE FINANCE
ASSEMBLY WAYS & MEANS COMMITTEES
JOINT LEGISLATIVE HEARING

Read the testimony in the Matter of the NYS 2016-2017 EXECUTIVE BUDGET
ON HEALTH AND MEDICAID

Has Oneida County applied for a "CON" for the proposed new hospital yet? Understand the "Certificate of Need" or CON process. Then compare the available information on New York State's Department of Health CON website as compared to Georgia's CON website You'll see that Georgia offers very up-to-date and detailed reporting, for example the Georgia CON Tracking Report (PDF)

We see where a "surprise" was welcome by our leaders as Governor Andrew Cuomo & Legislature passed a budget with funding for a "Healthcare Integration in Oneida County" based on the "Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP)" Program. Yet the same story goes onto report funding for the DSRIP project has not yet been announced.

So, does a surprise budget and a pot of money trump a CON?

Consider This! Why did Utica-area citizens hear about such a major project only after it was planned by government leaders? Consider; the New York Department of Transportation (DOT) posts Projects in Your Neighborhood to their website. The DOT also offers multiple plans for consideration and seeks public input in a variety of ways.

However, this very significant hospital plan was crafted in Albany and written into legislation and called a "HEALTH CARE FACILITY TRANSFORMATION PROGRAM". Yet it was done without local taxpayer discussion or input. Next, citizens are told by their leaders, "If you don't accept our plan the Utica-area will lose $300M,
you'll be sending the funds to Syracuse or some other city."

Is that fair, is that good representation? Read about this 2014 New York Public Health Law on Justia US Law

Read what people have been saying about the hospital concept, Other Voices page.

Please let us know your thoughts by sending an email message, Email #NoHospitalDowntown

No Studies, No Reports, thus we remain #NoHospitalDowntown

Our research is ongoing, please check back. Our research is ongoing, please check back.