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Rare dual-hospital campus in Ogdensburg seeks continued support from state
Jun. 21—OGDENSBURG — As North Star Health Alliance completes its plan for preserving rural healthcare in the north country, it is looking for continued strong support from the state to help it reach the final phase in the transformation of its Ogdensburg campus.
Since August 2022, North Star has been working with the state Department of Health on a stabilization plan that unites Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center, Carthage Area Hospital, Claxton-Hepburn Medical Campus, North Country Orthopaedic Group and Meadowbrook Terrace under a shared framework for leadership and service coordination.
Central to this transformation, according to North Star, is a pioneering Ogdensburg campus where two separately licensed hospitals operate side by side under one roof, a first in New York state.
Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center now serves as a 40-bed inpatient psychiatric hospital, which North Star says is the first stand-alone, not-for-profit facility of its kind in the state, with dedicated units tailored for children, adolescents and adults.
Adjacent to this is the Claxton-Hepburn Medical Campus, a 25-bed acute care hospital managed by Carthage Area Hospital that has completed the final steps for Critical Access Hospital status. It was previously a 137-bed acute care hospital.
In June 2024, the state's Public Health and Health Planning Council voted unanimously to approve the dual-hospital plan, praising it as a model for other rural healthcare systems, according to North Star President and CEO Richard A. Duvall.
"It's the first one in New York State to have a single campus with two hospitals on it," Duvall said. "It has been nationally, but never in New York. All of this creates a sustainable model for the future of securing rural health care."
Duvall said the separation of the behavioral health unit has improved the traffic flow and patient experience in the emergency room.
"Instead of having the ER doctor whose got an appendix case here, cardiology case there, and then someone in behavioral health crisis over there, it allows for that more individualize, or specialized care. It speeds up the patient experience quite a bit too."
The Claxton Campus successfully completed its critical access survey on June 12, marking an important final milestone in the designation process, which Duvall said will move North Star confidently into the next phase of it strategic plan, focused on strengthening rural healthcare access and sustainability across the north country by better allowing for clinical integration, resource sharing and joint planning, all vital in a rural region.
In addition, North Star's member organizations support over 1,800 jobs across the region and generate $307 million in annual economic activity. In 2024, North Star's facilties handled more than 325,000 outpatient appointments, 31,000 emergency department visits, 5,000 hospital admissions and welcomed 530 newborns.
He said the changes were made without cutting staff or services. "This is a good news story," he said.
Duvall said all of North Star's accomplishments have come with the strong backing of the state, from the Department of Health up to Gov. Kathleen C. Hochul. Duvall said the governor and DOH's leadership have been unwavering in support of North Star's efforts.
Now, North Star is looking to the state to help with a final piece of its transition and stabilization plan. It was recently invited to apply for funding through Gov. Hochul's Safety Net Trasnformation Program, which was established in the state's Fiscal Year 2025 Enacted Budget to provide, among other things, both capital and operating resources to safety net hospitals in vulnerable communities.
Duvall said if North Star's application is successful, the state funding would enable essential facility upgrades and offset temporary revenue shortfalls as a the hospitals transition to Critical Access Hospital status.
As North Star awaits word on the funding, Duvall expressed the alliance's gratitude to vendors and employees for their continued support during what he concedes is a financially challenging period. He said, however, the changes being made by North Star will not only help preserve healthcare in the region at a time when may rural hospitals are cutting vital services, but allow for the expansion of specialty care while strengthening care delivery across each of the communities where North Star operates.
