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Hall Delivers Federal Funding for Putnam Hospital Center Cancer Care Program
On January 10, 2008, U.S. Rep. John Hall (D-NY19) presented the Putnam Hospital Center (PHC) with a check representing the $191,593 in federal funding he secured for the hospital's comprehensive Cancer Care program.
Hall presented the check to Donna McGregor, PHC President and CEO, John Neubauer, PHC Board of Directors Chairman, and Michael Weber, Health Quest President and CEO. The funding that Hall secured was included in the fiscal year 2008 Omnibus Appropriations Act that has passed both Houses of Congress, been signed by the President, and is now officially law.
Congressman Hall requested the money so he could help Putnam area residents remain closer to their homes and families during often painful and arduous treatment.
"This Cancer Care Program will allow the Putnam Hospital Center to provide access to quality cancer services closer to home so people suffering from cancer won't be burdened with traveling long distances to receive care," said Hall.
Putnam, the second-fastest growing county in New York, has the fourth-highest cancer death rate in the Hudson Valley according to the New York Department of Health. The federal monies will go toward the hospital's new cancer center, which will include a state-ofthe art linear accelerator for radiation therapy. Patients requiring radiation therapy now have to go outside the county, necessitating considerable time and travel on a daily basis for a period of many weeks, at a time when patients are most vulnerable.
"We are extremely grateful for Congressman Hall's efforts in securing this funding for the hospital's new cancer center," said PHC President and CEO Donna M. McGregor. "With its opening, patients will no longer have to travel considerable distances for radiation therapy that is administered daily. For our community, this means expanded local access to quality healthcare."
The comprehensive Cancer Care Program will offer Putnam area residents access to stateof the-art radiation therapy services that previously only been available at considerable distances from the County; the hospital's cancer program will focus on the four leading types of cancer that affect Putnam residents: breast, urological, pulmonary and digestive. The new cancer center will be located on the first floor of a new five-story patient building that is currently under construction, with completion due the end of spring. The facility will include new technology for diagnosing and treating cancer, as well as other services for patients and specialists.
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