POTSDAM, NY – St. Lawrence Health was notified today, February 15, 2023, by the New York State Department of Health that Canton-Potsdam Hospital was awarded a $7 million grant for an Obstetrics Expansion project, and a $3 million grant for the construction of a Rural Family Medicine residency facility.
“The monies being allotted to St. Lawrence Health through the grants will allow us to improve the services we offer to all community members of the North Country,” stated St. Lawrence Health and Canton-Potsdam Hospital President Donna McGregor. “These expansions are consistent with the entire system’s Rural Health Strategy.”
The Obstetrics (OB) Expansion project will be created on the fourth floor of the Regional Care Pavilion at Canton-Potsdam Hospital (CPH), which is currently under construction. As previously reported, the Pavilion will also house an expanded Emergency Department, single occupancy patient rooms, and a new entrance and lobby area. The new structure is expected to be completed in 2025.
The OB floor will include the construction of 12 labor and delivery rooms, two postpartum rooms, two C-section suites, and administrative space. It will also house the Maternal Wrap Around Program (MWRAP), and the Rural Lactation and Childbirth Education program.
“This newly configured Birthplace will provide a modern outfitted space for our current volume of births, and for increased future demands,” Ms. McGregor commented. “The OB Expansion project will alleviate barriers to healthcare services for pregnant and postpartum women in the North Country region through comprehensive care coordination and access to services.”
A main highlight of the OB project will be private rooms for each patient, along with the ability to perform C-sections directly in The Birthplace suite.
The Family Medicine Rural Residency Program facility will offer a diverse experience in primary care medicine in the rural North Country setting. This new addition will be complimentary to the training programs currently in place between St. Lawrence Health and the local colleges/universities.
The grant funding will be used to construct a building in the Potsdam area with 16 exam rooms, a conference room, and office space for the program director, administrative support, and residents.
“Once the facility is constructed, CPH will implement a Family Medicine Rural Residency Program consisting of a three-year residency that will prepare four residents per year with training and experience to become new primary care doctors,” she added.
Upon reaching its third year, with four residents per class, the Program at CPH will be home to 12 residents each year.
Residents will be afforded experiences in community-based practices at CPH, while still having resources found in tertiary healthcare settings in Buffalo and Rochester. This approach will produce highly qualified clinicians who are capable of working in a variety of primary care clinical settings. CPH anticipates its residents will also have the chance to grow their own teaching skills as they work with a large group of third and fourth year medical students from Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine.
All medical school graduates must complete a period of Graduate Medical Education (GME), or residency training, to be licensed to practice medicine in the United States. During residency, doctors learn skills and techniques specific to their chosen specialty under the supervision of attending physicians and serve as part of a care team.
“CPH proposes the Family Medicine Rural Residency Program will build the base of primary health workers within the Hospital by bringing them in as residents of St. Lawrence County, and provide training that will allow them to excel as rural clinicians,” Ms. McGregor stated.
The residents will further have the potential to stay at in the area, which will assist in addressing New York’s and St. Lawrence County’s need for more practitioners.
“St. Lawrence Health is extremely grateful to the Department of Heath for awarding us the funds requested through our grant applications,” Ms. McGregor said. “The vision and creation of the OB and Residency projects will be another step forward in providing exceptional care to our patients, and opportunities for healthcare professionals for generations to come.”
