Obituaries: Grener, Collins

By DIANE VALDEN

COPAKE—Columbia Memorial Health’s Copake Rapid Care Center at 283 Mountain View Road may be on the road to recovery.

At the October 12 Copake Town Board meeting, Town Supervisor Jeanne Mettler reported the Rapid Care Center, which has been closed for nearly a year, seems on track to reopen by January 2024. CMH officials previously said the lack of staff was the main hurdle to reopening, but financial issues also came to light.

Ms. Mettler said she recently spoke to Columbia Memorial Health (CMH) Board of Trustees Chair Kirk Kneller, who told her a healthcare provider, someone to anchor the center, has been found. CMH has been advertising for a physician assistant (PA) for months. Its enticing ad said in part: “Combine a deeply satisfying career with an unparalleled lifestyle in Upstate NY without sacrificing competitive income. Enjoy an abundance of recreational and cultural activities; live on a lake, hop a train to Manhattan after work, golf, ski, mountain bike or hike on weekends.”

Specifically, according to the ad, the Copake Rapid Care PA handles an “average volume of 15 patients a day; should be able to handle minor procedures and a wide range of urgent care visits” and “must be comfortable with all ages of patients, from pediatric to older adults.”

A coalition of five area towns, Copake, Hillsdale, Ancram, Gallatin and Taghkanic has been advocating for the reopening of the Copake Rapid Care Center.

With the closure of Copake facility, residents in the eastern part of Columbia County found themselves with no nearby medical facility and forced to travel to Hudson, Great Barrington, MA, or Sharon, CT, all at least 30 minutes away, for urgent medical care.

Representatives of the five towns and other interested parties, including the Community Rescue Squad and Copake Fire Company, met with CMH officials urging that “a quick solution was less important than a lasting solution.”

Another development on the Rapid Care front is the approval by the Columbia Memorial Health Foundation of a “donor designated fund” to which contributions may be made to directly benefit the Copake Rapid Care Center.

An October 18 email to The Columbia Paper from CMH Spokesman William Van Slyke said, “The CMH Foundation is now accepting donations specifically to support Copake Rapid Care services. Any donors wishing to contribute can simply indicate in the memo section of their check that the funds are for Copake Rapid Care, and anyone donating online will find a dropbox on the donation page that identifies the Copake Rapid Care Center.”

Checks may be mailed to the Columbia Memorial Health Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Columbia Memorial Health, at 71 Prospect Avenue, Hudson 12534.

At the October meeting, Ms. Mettler also said some of the staff that was reassigned when the Copake facility closed will be brought back.

The supervisor characterized the recent developments as “very good news.”

In his email, Mr. Van Slyke said, “While nothing is finalized, we have seen progress, and we are hopeful of a re-opening early next year. However, a few details still need to be locked down before we are certain.”

Copake Rapid Care initially opened its doors in 2016 and is located in one end of the Community Rescue Squad building.

The community contributed $25,000 toward the installation cost of a new 100-foot-tall tower equipped with a microwave relay system to provide the needed Xray transmission specifications; the Community Rescue Squad supported the project and gave CMH two years free rent. CMH came up with half of the needed $700,000 project cost and, then state Senator Kathleen Marchione (R-43rd) stepped in to assist by securing $350,000 as part of the 2015-16 State Budget to help with the initial cost of site renovation and equipment purchases.

To contact Diane Valden email dvalden@columbiapaper.com