Hochul highlights $124 million investment in planned rural hospital

Gov. Kathy Hochul highlighted $124 million in state funding for the planned Northern Chautauqua Hospital in Fredonia. The facility is expected to open in 2029, with the state providing more than half of the project’s total cost.

Hochul said changes to Medicaid and health coverage under the federal law commonly called the “One Big Beautiful Bill” could add to challenges facing rural hospitals, including lower reimbursements, rising costs and staffing shortages. The law also created a $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program. New York received more than $212 million in the program’s first year.

The planned hospital is expected to include 20 private medical, surgical and observation beds, a 17-bay emergency department, three operating rooms, three procedure rooms and 47 exam rooms for primary and specialty care. The project is being developed with Kaleida Health.