TICONDEROGA, N.Y. (September 8, 2020) – Hudson Headwaters Health Network, University of Vermont Health Network – Elizabethtown Community Hospital and University of Vermont Health Network officials celebrate the completion of construction and scheduled opening of the newly constructed Ticonderoga Health Center.

The new health center facility will welcome its first patients on September 14, roughly one year since its construction began. The facility replaces Hudson Headwaters’ older, and much smaller, health center on Racetrack Road.

Hudson Headwaters’ new health center is part of a larger project that also included renovating Elizabethtown Community Hospital’s office space and boardroom. The project’s goal is to create easy access between the hospital and Hudson Headwaters’ primary care offices with the two organizations connected by a main foyer from which patients can access either facility.

Hudson Headwaters Ticonderoga Health Center features 10,300 square feet and 14 primary care exam rooms, along with a procedure room, private consultation space and on-site testing space. Its 15 providers offer pediatric and adult primary care, podiatry, and women’s health services, along with a full nursing and support staff, integrated behavioral health and social work support teams. This new location allows Ticonderoga Health Center patients to easily access Elizabethtown Community Hospital’s emergency department, X-ray, CT, ultrasound and MRI suite, outpatient rehabilitation space and specialty clinics, all within the same building.

According to Hudson Headwaters’ CEO Dr. Tucker Slingerland, Hudson Headwaters’ vital partnerships in Ticonderoga have been the key to moving this project forward and ensuring that everyone has easy access to high-quality health care. “Hudson Headwaters primary care provides an important foundation for the overall health and wellbeing of our patients, but many times patients require additional, complementary care,” he said. “We’re grateful to partner with Elizabethtown Community Hospital and the University of Vermont Health Network to offer patients in Ticonderoga and the surrounding communities the convenience of receiving many different health care services all in one building.”

The move from Hudson Headwaters Ticonderoga Health Center on Racetrack Road to Elizabethtown Community Hospital’s Ticonderoga campus, completes University of Vermont Health Network’s vision for the development of a “medical village,” encompassing all aspects of health care in one location.

“Over the past five years, we have worked to transform this facility and the way healthcare is delivered in Ticonderoga,” said Elizabethtown Community Hospital President John Remillard. “Patients can now come here for primary and emergency care, and can access imaging, lab work, rehabilitation services, and wellness resources like diabetes education -- all under one roof. Every month there are visiting specialists on site so patients don’t have to drive 50 miles or more for specialty care, like oncology or cardiology. This transformation is a win for the Ticonderoga community and something we can all take pride in.”

Were it not for the support of the University of Vermont Health Network, the New York State Department of Health, and Senator Betty Little, we would not have been able to reinvent the hospital. These partners made it possible for us to keep care local and offer it in a modern, state-of-the-art facility. The project included a new meeting space for Elizabethtown Community Hospital next to the new health center. We have dedicated our new meeting space in Senator Little’s honor in recognition of her support,” said Remillard. 

“I truly am humbled to have the meeting space dedicated in my honor,” said Senator Little.  “This new facility is what our community has needed. To have played a small role in helping bring it to reality is the real honor, knowing how valuable having this kind of access to an array of health services is for patients.  Throughout my legislative tenure, the delivery of health care has seen dramatic changes. I am so grateful for the professional and highly dedicated men and women who do incredible work each day to overcome some of the unique challenges we see in a rural setting. This is a great day for medical care in the Ticonderoga region.”

According to UVM Health Network CEO Dr. John Brumsted, the Ticonderoga campus serves as a model for the future of rural healthcare. “Rural hospitals face unique challenges. In the last ten years, more than 100 rural hospitals across the country have closed their doors. No one wanted that for Ticonderoga. By rethinking care delivery and customizing the facility to meet the community’s needs, we have been able to create a new and sustainable healthcare model that will help ensure there is access to high-quality care right here in Ticonderoga.”

Hudson Headwaters Health Network and UVM Health Network and have also partnered to expand primary care in Clinton County, at Hudson Headwaters Champlain Family Health and Plattsburgh Family Health centers.

“From my perspective, the partnership between The University of Vermont Health Network and Hudson Headwaters Health Network has led to one of the region’s best examples of an integrated health care delivery system,” said Slingerland. “Our commitment to establishing and enhancing health care services in Ticonderoga ensures that the medical needs of patients living in and around the region will be well-addressed for many years to come.” 

The project was funded by a $5.6 million grant from New York’s Statewide Health Care Facility Transformation Program along with a $1 million contribution from Hudson Headwaters Health Network and $1 million from University of Vermont Health Network.

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About Hudson Headwaters Heath Network
A nonprofit, community-based network of health centers, Hudson Headwaters Health Network has served the Glens Falls, Lake George and Adirondack regions since 1981 and northern Clinton County since 2012. Its comprehensive services include primary care and urgent care, pediatrics, women’s health, behavioral health, dentistry and a variety of other specialties along with laboratory and imaging. For more information, visit www.hhhn.org.

About Elizabethtown Community Hospital

The University of Vermont Health Network - Elizabethtown Community Hospital is a designated critical access hospital and the primary health care provider serving the 39,000 people who live, work and vacation in Essex County, NY and the surrounding region.

Elizabethtown Community Hospital is transforming rural health care at its main campus in Elizabethtown, NY, at a new emergency department and outpatient center at the former Moses Ludington Hospital in Ticonderoga, NY, and at six community-based primary health care centers located throughout the region.  The hospital is one of the community’s largest employers with 360 employees.

Across the Elizabethtown and Ticonderoga campuses, the hospital maintains two 24-hour emergency rooms, a 25-bed inpatient unit, physical therapy, laboratory, and digital radiology departments, and a variety of specialty physician clinics on a weekly and monthly basis.  

Elizabethtown Community Hospital is accredited by the Joint Commission and is licensed and certified by the New York State Department of Health and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

About The University of Vermont Health Network
The University of Vermont Health Network is an academic health system that is comprised of six affiliate hospitals, a multi-specialty medical group, and a home health agency. We serve the residents of Vermont and northern New York with a shared mission: working together, we improve people’s lives.  Our partners include:

• The University of Vermont Medical Center  
• The University of Vermont Health Network Medical Group
• The University of Vermont Health Network – Alice Hyde Medical Center
• The University of Vermont Health Network – Central Vermont Medical Center
• The University of Vermont Health Network – Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital
• The University of Vermont Health Network – Elizabethtown Community Hospital
• The University of Vermont Health Network – Porter Medical Center
• The University of Vermont Health Network – Home Health and Hospice

Our 4,000 health care professionals are driven to provide high quality, cost-efficient care as close to home as possible. Strengthened by our academic connection to the University of Vermont, each of our hospitals remains committed to its local community by providing compassionate, personal care shaped by the latest medical advances and delivered by highly skilled experts.