Reed Announces Grant For Southern Tier Health Care System

WASHINGTON – Congressman Tom Reed announced this week that the Southern Tier Health Care System will receive a $265,179 grant to provide education and training to emergency police, fire and medical services in Allegany, Cattaraugus and Chautauqua Counties.
“We care about ensuring our rural communities have fair access to quality emergency healthcare,” Reed said. “This grant enables the Southern Tier Health Care System to provide essential training to first responders in order to combat the opioid crisis and boost jobs in our community.”
“We couldn’t be more pleased to receive this second round of federal funding,” said Donna Kahm, STHCS President and CEO. “Distance is one of the biggest barriers to health care and health education for professionals in this vast, rural coverage area. With each additional satellite site we make distance less a part of the equation, allowing for trainees from a broad spectrum of health-care disciplines to access information vital to serving the residents of our counties, enhancing the quality of rural health care and advancing their own careers.”
Southern Tier Health Care System, Inc. is a rural health care network serving Allegany, Cattaraugus and Chautauqua counties in southwestern New York. Its mission is to improve the health and wellness of our rural communities. STHCS features the Southern Tier Emergency Medical Services (STEMS) as one of its largest and most impactful programs. A program agency for the NYS Bureau of EMS and Trauma Systems (BEMSTS), STEMS coordinates, trains and credentials a network of 93 EMS agencies and 900 professional and volunteer responders across the coverage area.