OBSERVER file photo Ken Morris said the fight for a new Brooks-TLC Hospital continues.

Brooks-TLC Hospital System administrator Ken Morris kept the push going for release of state funding on a new facility in Fredonia, during a village Board of Trustees workshop this week.

“We’ve been in this community for 125 years, a long history of taking care of folks in and around our communities,” said Morris, president and chief executive officer at Brooks-TLC. “We were established for a reason, that reason is to keep care close to home. So we’re fighting for that right now.”

He continued, “Right now, we’re in the prime budget season for the state. Our ask here today is for local support, publicly doing everything we can to advocate on our behalf, because our new project is critical for our success. We’re struggling financially, I think everyone’s well aware of that.”

Morris added, “Part of our plan is to make sure we’re focused on improving access in our communities… we’re really a regional hospital. Fifty percent of our patients are from outside Dunkirk and Fredonia. And so with our plan, establishing a new upgraded facility in the Fredonia area, (we improve) our access to all of northern Chautauqua County.

“Our ability to become sustainable requires us to build a new hospital — not just to be sustainable, but also keep up with technology and keep up the standards of health care in our communities.”

Morris went on to say that building a new hospital in Fredonia will bring new medical providers to the community. He touted two orthopedics who already plan to practice nearby, “and more will come.”

“It’s also a major economic driver,” he said. “It’s important for SUNY Fredonia, it’s important for the businesses that are around our community.”

Fredonia Mayor Michael Ferguson prompted Morris to talk about what people can do, and who to contact, on the issue. “Whoever they can reach as far as the governor’s office, reach out. Your local political leaders, reach out. They need to hear from you, they need to know this is important for the community. The more we can do that, the next couple weeks over this budget period, the more successful we’ll be.”

Morris promised to meet with any and all community groups “if that’s what it takes to gain the community’s support.”

Ferguson noted another rally of support for the new hospital is planned for May. It will be similar to the one held recently in Dunkirk but this one will be in the Fredonia Opera House sometime between May 21 to 27.

“We’re working through that, we’ve met with the unions, the unions have been great supporters of the project, knowing how critical it is for us to keep health care in the community,” Morris said of the upcoming rally.

Trustee Jon Espersen asked if the state was still looking for an acceptable financial sustainability plan for the hospital, “so they feel like they won’t have to cover large deficits in the future.”

Morris said, “Our sustainability plan shows that our financials will improve with a new hospital. Through integration with Kaleida Health, we’re partnering with them, we believe that we’ve resolved any questions related to sustainability with (state departments).”

Morris later commented that shrinking the footprint of the hospital, from its current 180,000 square feet to 100,000 square feet at the planned facility, “dramatically changes the operating cost in terms of utilities and maintenance — the maintenance right now is through the roof, based on the age of the facility.”

After Morris spoke, Ferguson stated, “This is not a Fredonia hospital, this is not a Dunkirk hospital, it’s not a Brocton hospital, it’s not a Seneca Nation hospital, it is all of those. It is a Chautauqua County hospital. It is important to us, not only for the health care of our current residents, but for us to draw new business, new residents (and) families here to this community, where they can feel safe that services and health care will continue on in a new and improved environment.”