BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Dozens gathered at Brooks Memorial Hospital in Dunkirk on Tuesday night to voice their concerns over delayed funds for a new hospital.
The state previously promised funds for a new $71 million micro-hospital in Fredonia but has yet to release the money.
In October 2023, health care workers hosted a community rally in front of the hospital, hoping to inspire movement in the project from the state.
WATCH RELATED: 'There's just no excuse': Healthcare workers rallying for NYS to release Brooks Hospital funds
“The building is becoming I would say dilapidated it's falling apart it needs repairs that are very costly,” says registered nurse Kenneth Long. “We need new technologies to help take care of patients, giving the staff what they need to take care of patients trying to enter. You know the 2024 set feels like you're entering 1980.”
Other nurses say the conditions of the current hospital are unsanitary.
"Where we've been without hot water,” says Sydney Essek, a registered nurse. “I've been at Brooks for four years. I've worked in or seen almost every department where the building's outdated things are breaking. We deserve a new building for our patients and our staff.”
The CEO of Brooks Memorial says the faster they get a new hospital, the more efficient the healthcare system in the county will be.
“It would allow us to take care of just as many patients and smaller square footage right? It’ll allow us to provide greater access to other communities in the area and as far as our sustainability goals,” says Ken Morris, CEO of Brooks TLC Hospital. “As I indicated in many others, hospitals alone when they stand alone are not very sustainable. They have to be partnered with a larger healthcare system to be sustainable."
The Mayor of Fredonia Michael Ferguson is standing side by side with the hospital and calling on the state to release the funding.
“Just Fredonia alone we're well over 10,000 residents, plus the Town of Pomfret, plus talking about thousands and thousands of residents that need this healthcare and Chautauqua County has had a mass of people for a number of years,” says Ferguson. “And this will help us retain those residents bring new residents to the community new doctors this is just about quality life it's also about jobs.”
There will be a rally this Friday to address the delays in building a new hospital for the people of Chautauqua County.
