An artist’s rendering of the new Brooks-TLC facility.

An announcement by Gov. Kathy Hochul last week is good news for health care in the Western New York region.

Hochul unveiled the transformative investments in seven hospitals and healthcare partnerships across New York that included Bertrand Chaffee Hospital in Springville, Brooks-TLC Hospital System, Inc., Olean General Hospital and Kaleida Health.

“This announcement is great news for our community and rural health care in Western New York,” said Ken Morris, president and chief executive officer of the Brooks-TLC Hospital System. “Consistent with Kaleida Health’s vision to transform the region into a cohesive and sustainable clinically integrated network, Kaleida Health has been working closely with the Brooks-TLC Hospital, Inc. Board for this initiative to secure health care for Northern Chautauqua County and surrounding communities.”

Hochul’s big announcement for Brooks-TLC came six months ago when she made the release of $74 million in state funding official for a new state-of-the-art facility that will be built on West Main Street at the former Cornell Cooperative Extension location. Since that early June afternoon at the State University of New York at Fredonia, Brooks-TLC and Kaleida have been making preparations at the site and with building plans.

“This investment allows us to move forward with the previously announced plans to build a new Brooks-TLC Hospital System Inc., in Fredonia,” Morris said. “Preliminary work is well underway and Kaleida Health intends to file a certificate of need (CON) with the New York state Department of Health in the next 60-90 days. This milestone will officially kick off the planning and eventual construction process of the new facility.”

Hochul’s announcement also included Kaleida formalizing partnerships with Bertrand Chaffee and Olean General hospitals that will include critical infrastructure upgrades at the locations.

In addition, Kaleida Health will modernize its electronic medical record system to enable greater efficiency and improved continuity of care throughout Western New York.

“The strength of our hospitals is a reflection of the strength of our communities, and safety net hospitals play a critical role in providing quality health care to vulnerable populations,” Hochul said in her announcement. “Every person should have access to affordable, reliable health care regardless of the ZIP code they live in, and these investments will bring vital resources to underserved New Yorkers.”