The Fort Worth Press - Ellenville Regional Hospital Awarded $3 Million to Expand Rural Specialty Access Across New York

NEW YORK, NY / ACCESS Newswire / September 29, 2026 / Ellenville Regional Hospital has been awarded $3 million through New York State's Rural Community Health Integration (RCHI) initiative, part of the State's Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP), to implement NY-VISTA, a new 11-hospital rural specialty access collaborative.

New York Virtual Integrated Specialty Telehealth Access (NY-VISTA) is designed to give emergency department and inpatient teams timely access to specialty expertise at critical points in patient care. The program will create a shared clinical and technology infrastructure across participating hospitals, with the goal of helping rural teams determine when care can safely remain local, when transfer is necessary, and how specialty expertise can support better coordination throughout the patient's care journey.

"Rural hospitals make difficult care decisions every day, often without the same immediate access to specialty expertise available in larger health systems," said Steven L. Kelley, FACHE, President and CEO of Ellenville Regional Hospital. "This funding gives us an opportunity to change that. NY-VISTA is about getting the right expertise to the patient and the local care team when a decision has to be made. If we can safely care for more patients close to home, reduce unnecessary transfers and better support local clinicians, that will make a meaningful difference for the communities we serve."

"The technology matters, but the clinical operating model matters more," said Corey Scurlock, MD, MBA, Founder and CEO of Equum Medical. "A rural clinician needs more than a video connection. They need dependable access to the right specialist, clear clinical workflows, credentialing, response standards and a team that is accountable for making the program work in everyday care. NY-VISTA brings those pieces together across multiple hospitals while preserving local clinical decision making. The objective is simple: bring expertise to the patient rather than moving the patient simply to reach expertise."

NY-VISTA's innovative approach to clinical workflows will enable a common telehealth platform to integrate the electronic health record systems of each of the participating hospitals, facilitating automated bi-directional data exchange. This allows remote specialists to leverage a single interface and efficiently support all participating hospitals. With program data aggregated into one system, NY-VISTA will track clinical and operational performance throughout implementation, including specialty consult response and utilization, transfer patterns, behavioral health boarding, local care retention hospital readiness and workforce training. Quarterly dashboards will help participating hospitals evaluate how improved specialty access affects patient flow, local capacity and care delivery.

NY-VISTA is designed to extend beyond the initial grant period. Hospital-level data, utilization, transfer patterns and specialty needs will inform a multiyear expansion roadmap and the financial and operating model needed to sustain and grow the collaborative.

"Rural hospitals cannot efficiently build every specialty capability independently," said Eric Shell, MBA, Board Chair of Stroudwater Associates. "A shared model allows hospitals to start with their own transfer patterns, service gaps, economics and local priorities, then direct resources to the places where they can have the greatest impact. NY-VISTA creates an opportunity to prove what works, measure the value and build a financially credible path to sustain and expand access."

NY-VISTA expects to begin implementation during Budget Period 1, with project activities scheduled through June 30, 2027. The first year will establish the governance, hospital readiness, clinical pathways, technology foundation, performance measurement and expansion strategy required to support a broader rural specialty access network.

About the Rural Community Health Integration Initiative

Rural Community Health Integration (RCHI) is an initiative of New York State's Rural Health Transformation Program. This initiative supports regional and community partnerships designed to improve coordination across the healthcare continuum, enhance access to services, and better address the health and social needs of rural New Yorkers.

New York announced more than $76 million in RCHI funding across 90 awards to 56 organizations on September 4, 2026. The State describes the initiative as an investment in stronger regional partnerships, improved care coordination and expanded access to health and social services in rural communities.

New York's Rural Health Transformation Program is supported through the federal Rural Health Transformation Program administered by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The federal program is designed to strengthen and modernize rural healthcare, expand access to care, support the rural health workforce, and advance sustainable models of care for rural communities. CMS describes the national program as a $50 billion initiative focused on strengthening rural health systems, expanding access, supporting the workforce and modernizing healthcare infrastructure and technology.

About Ellenville Regional Hospital

Ellenville Regional Hospital is a nationally recognized Critical Access Hospital located in Ellenville, New York, serving communities in Ulster County and the Hudson Valley. The hospital's mission centers on providing exceptional, compassionate healthcare while improving community health through clinical excellence, innovation and advanced technology.

About NY-VISTA

NY-VISTA, New York Virtual Integrated Specialty Telehealth Access, is a hospital-led rural specialty access collaborative led by Ellenville Regional Hospital and connecting 11 rural hospitals across 11 New York counties. The program combines shared clinical governance, hospital readiness, credentialing, standardized workflows, technology infrastructure, workforce training and common performance measurement to expand timely access to specialty expertise.

The NY-VISTA collaborative includes Equum Medical, Stroudwater Associates, ViTel Net, Vitalchat, Connor Communications & Consulting and Ingenium Digital Health Advisors, bringing together clinical, rural health strategy, communications, digital health and technology expertise. NY-VISTA also participates in the broader Rural Health Transformation Alliance ecosystem.

The goal is simple: help rural hospitals keep clinically appropriate care local while ensuring patients who need a higher level of care are transferred appropriately.

Federal funding acknowledgment

This initiative is supported by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $212,058,207.80 in Budget Period 1, with 100 percent funded by CMS/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement by, CMS/HHS or the U.S. Government.

Media Contact

Karsten Russell-Wood
Chief Marketing & Experience Officer
VISTA-Collaborative
[email protected]
1.833.240.8966

SOURCE: Equum Medical

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire

W.Matthews--TFWP