Carthage Area Hospital - Community Partners - Primary Care Network

What is it?

Carthage Area Hospital’s Community Partners - Primary Care Network is a collaborative infrastructure of health care providers, schools, local government, civic organizations and others to develop, implement and maintain opportunities to ensure needed access to basic primary health care and related education.

Who is it for?

Underserved residents of northern Lewis, southern St. Lawrence and Jefferson counties.

Why do they do it?

Providing underserved populations access to timely and appropriate primary health care services is more effective and less costly than waiting until crisis intervention becomes necessary. During the past eight years, the hospital has opened several primary care centers and school-based health centers within its primary and secondary service areas up to 50 miles away from the main hospital campus. Forty-six percent of area residents live below 200 percent of the federal poverty line. Carthage Area Hospital’s service area is designated as a Healthcare Professional Shortage Area, and the hospital is designated as a Sole Community Provider Hospital.

Impact

Since the program’s inception in 2000, the hospital has opened multiple primary care centers, decreased inpatient emergent admissions and increased its involvement in community educational events, such as health fairs, screening events and speaking engagements. The program earned the hospital a 2006 HANYS Community Health Improvement Award honorable mention.

Contact: Susan Kellogg
Primary Care Administrator
Telephone: 315-493-1000, ext. 3371
E-mail: skellogg@cahny.net