OBSERVER Photos by Braden Carmen More than 100 people gathered for a rally at Brooks Memorial Hospital in October to demand Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state Department of Health release funding for a new hospital in northern Chautauqua County.

No news from New York state is beginning to become unnerving when it comes to the Brooks-TLC Hospital System’s future and potential new facility in northern Chautauqua County.

Later this month, health-care union leaders from across the region are hoping to drum up community support when a community forum will take place regarding the issue. That event is being scheduled on Tuesday, March 19, at the Northern Chautauqua Catholic School at 336 Washington Ave. in Dunkirk from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. to discuss the ongoing delays to construct the new hospital in Fredonia.

Hospital workers represented by the New York State Nurses Association and 1199 Service Employees International Union, concerned citizens, elected leaders and members of the hospital administration are expected to attend.

According to a news release issued Thursday, “Brooks Memorial Hospital is the only health-care facility available in northern Chautauqua County. The dedicated healthcare workers at Brooks continue to provide care in an aging and outdated facility in Dunkirk. The community has been waiting for seven-plus years for the New York State Department of Health to release previously approved funds to construct a new modernized hospital.”

Hospital officials had hoped the release of funds would come during Gov. Kathy Hochul’s State of the State address or her budget presentation earlier this year. That did not happen — and the waiting game continues.