More Than One Million in Funding for The Center for Discovery
HARRIS, August 2020—Following months of tireless correspondence and advocacy on behalf of the complex and medically fragile residents at The Center for Discovery to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), U.S. Representative Antonio Delgado (NY-19) and U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer have jointly announced that they have successfully secured $1,009,580 in funding for The Center from the CARES Act HHS Provider Relief Fund. These funds will support The Center’s workers and patients in their COVID-19 response and allow The Center to continue their vital health care and education services for Americans with special needs.
“Our community ought to be judged by how it treats its most vulnerable populations and The Center for Discovery is the gold standard in specialized care for Americans with differing abilities. I am glad to see The Center has finally received urgently needed federal funds that will allow them to continue to provide invaluable care for our communities. These CARES Act funds will go a long way to allow The Center to continue their important work and take needed safety precautions to keep their employees and residents safe from the coronavirus,” said Rep. Delgado. “My office worked closely with the Center and Senator Schumer to advocate for these funds and while I am glad to see these funds distributed, these delays are unacceptable. I will continue to demand transparency and accountability in funding for our health care centers and most vulnerable populations across our district.”
“From day one of this pandemic, I have worked with The Center for Discovery to ensure they had the federal resources necessary to continue providing high quality care for their vulnerable patients with complex disabilities,” said Senator Schumer. “After months of our tireless advocacy, I’m happy to announce alongside Congressman Delgado that The Center has finally received over $1 million owed to them by the Provider Fund I negotiated to include in the CARES Act and Corona 3.5. Additionally, I was happy to assist The Center last week with their FEMA public assistance application that was stuck in the system for months and am happy to report that they can now unlock at least $1.5 million in reimbursement for PPE, pandemic housing, food supply, and more to protect our most vulnerable. I am proud to continue my support for the essential role carried out by The Center for Discovery as both a care provider and the largest employer in Sullivan County, and I will not rest until they have all the federal resources they need to continue their service for all of Upstate New York.”
“These stimulus funds are critical for The Center for Discovery as we try and recoup the enormous expenses we have faced during this devastating pandemic. We are still early in this crisis and there is much more to be done,” said Patrick Dollard, the President and CEO of The Center for Discovery. “Senator Schumer and Congressman Delgado have truly been our champions in this fight and we are enormously grateful to them. We know they will be by our side as we continue working with the federal government to make sure we have the resources we need to help us protect the most vulnerable.”