Don Boyd, Kaleida Health chief executive officer.

When New York state announced the first round of a total of $74 million in funding it would set aside to build a new Brooks Memorial Hospital in northern Chautauqua County in April 2016, Don Boyd was serving in the position of senior vice president of business development at Kaleida Health. A little more than one year ago, he was tapped to oversee the largest health-care provider in Western New York as chief executive officer in succeeding Bob Nesselbush.

During an interview with the OBSERVER and The Post-Journal this month, Kaleida’s Boyd discussed the seven-year history and the tedious process that continues to include a commitment from his organization to see that a new, state-of-the-art Brooks-TLC Hospital is built. But when that actually will take place remains still up in the air.

Boyd acknowledged two major setbacks that have occurred during the seven-year process. One is the continuing evolution of health care as well as the nearly three-year battle with COVID-19.

Nevertheless, recent developments have brought a bit of newfound hope for the facility. Kaleida’s top administrators and Ken Morris, Brooks-TLC president and chief executive officer, are in greater communication with the state and its Health Department.

In addition, the land at the former Cornell Cooperative Extension site on East Main Street in Fredonia — nearly opposite the school district entrance — was officially purchased in June. That ended a more than four-year wait and was the first signal of a commitment to moving forward with the new site.

“The community requires access to health-care services,” Boyd said. “It’s essential. We define that access to health-care services … as a hospital. We have been unwavering on that very beginning.”

Though New York state has not provided documents to the OBSERVER through a Freedom of Information request in July 2022 that detail Brooks-TLC’s plans for a new hospital, a second study done by an independent commission completed last October offers details into what would be included in the proposed facility. Micro hospital plans call for emergency services with 12 bays, 15 medical and surgical beds, four surgical suites and two rooms for procedure, imaging with CT scans, MRI and ultrasound, stat lab services, a pharmacy, support services and a helipad.

“We’re still waiting to hear about the final determination to release those funds for the project to proceed,” Boyd said.

Also of note — and of great concern to all rural hospitals — are the finances. From 2018 to 2021, the Dunkirk operation ran a deficit of $55 million. Much of those losses have been reimbursed through New York state subsidies of more than $40 million during that same time period.

Even when a new location is built, estimates show that annual deficits would range around $3 million. For New York state, with its current and future investment of aid, the big question is who absorbs those losses moving forward?

“The vision is that upon completion of the new construction of the project and appropriate support from the state that we would bring Brooks under the umbrella of Kaleida Health,” Boyd said, noting Kaleida is doing its due diligence in making the effort come to fruition. In recent years, the provider has applied for capital dollars, successfully recruited physicians to the community and updated technology to reduce cost burdens to Brooks-TLC.

“Despite the passage of seven years of time, the need (in the north county) hasn’t changed and our commitment hasn’t changed,” he said.

Boyd did indicate there could be a competing proposal that New York state is considering that could impact the delivery of health care in Chautauqua County. He indicated he believes the plan put forth by the Brooks-TLC board is the only one that includes a new hospital for the Fredonia location.

Currently, Westfield Memorial Hospital is connected to the Allegheny Health Network and the Jamestown location is UPMC Chautauqua. Both health-care giants are based in Pittsburgh.

An email sent to a UPMC vice president of public relations was not answered by Friday afternoon. For its part, a state Health Department official– in response to a Freedom of Information request — said no such plan existed.

Currently located at 529 Central Ave. in Dunkirk, Brooks-TLC is facing the strains of operating in an antiquated and oversized facility. The four-story structure is high maintenance, which is a chunk of the costs associated with running the operation.

Last week, Mayor Wilfred Rosas told Common Council he has heard nothing new on what is happening with the hospital as residents are concerned about the possibility of an empty building once a new structure is built in Fredonia. Plans are in place for the Dunkirk Local Development Corp. to assume ownership of the current site if a new site comes to fruition.

Boyd, for now, knows that is outside of his control. “It’s a huge, huge investment,” he said of the project. “We acknowledge that. We’re grateful for the initial vision that the state had to fund it and we realize that it deserves that appropriate scrutiny.”