TOWN OF WALLKILL – State Senator James Skoufis (D, Cornwall) and Assemblyman Jonathan Jacobson (D, Newburgh), announced on Friday grants totaling $500,000 for Montefiore St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital in Newburgh, Garnet Health in the Town of Wallkill, St. Anthony Community Hospital in Warwick, and Bon Secours Community Hospital in Port Jervis. Each hospital will receive roughly $125,000 to make the improvements necessary to meet the standards for certification in the national assessment for pediatric readiness.
Citing a New York Times article from 2024 regarding pediatric readiness around the country, Skoufis said he was astounded to learn that approximately 80 percent of hospitals in the U.S. weren’t properly equipped or prepared to handle the influx of patients and that the lives of many children could have been saved if better pediatric standards were in place.
Due to cutbacks in federal funding, Jacobson added that money like this is even more important, particularly for a hospital like Montefiore St. Luke’s Cornwall in his native Newburgh. The hospital has already designated a significant portion of its gift to an all-new airway system to run throughout the location, according to Gina Del Savio, chief medical officer at the hospital.
“Here in New York only 17 percent of emergency departments have even taken the national assessment for pediatric readiness,” Skoufis said. “What we’re announcing today is funding and some incentives for each of these four hospitals in Orange County to move forward through this assessment and ultimately become pediatric ready and ensure the children these emergency departments serve are receiving the absolute highest and most excellent quality of care.”
Jonathan Schiller, president and CEO of Garnet Health, said a measure of society is how it takes care of its most vulnerable.
“The emergency department for us here in the Middletown area is the front door to care many. Often times, especially after the pandemic, we’ve seen more and more children in mental health crisis,” Schiller said. “It’s a big concern for us and it’s increasing every day. Because of the mental health ecosystem that we see, those children will stay with us for an extended period of time. Through this gift of helping us become a more pediatric ready facility, it’s given the ability to help those children stay clean and maintain their dignity throughout their stay with us.”
Dr. Pamela Murphy, chief medical officer at Garnet Health, added that from a clinical perspective it’s about trying to bridge a gap that’s occurred in the emergency department. According to her, the pediatric population has increased significantly over the years, particularly when it comes to behavioral health. Being held to a high standard ensures not only top-quality care, but a positive atmosphere for children. Money through this grant goes a long way in providing proper equipment, good health and hygiene and coordinated transport to other partner facilities, Murphy said.
Skoufis noted the national standards him and his colleagues were speaking on are purely voluntary. These are in no way state mandates, but funding that is meant as an incentive to improving overall pediatric care, he said.
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