For residents and travelers alike, Bassett Healthcare Network’s new Convenient Care Center in Milford builds on their goal of providing more healthcare options to people in rural settings.
“I think it’s a great service. And if you need it, it’s there,” said Lauren Rumi of Cooperstown.
What You Need To Know
For residents and travelers alike, Bassett Healthcare Network’s new Convenient Care Center in Milford builds on their goal of providing more healthcare options to people in rural settings
It is a walk-in clinic that will be open seven days a week starting in June
The New York State Department of Health said they remain committed to strengthening rural healthcare through investments
“Patients need the care, and we needed to make sure we had walk-in access, easy access for our patients,” said Deanna Charles, the senior vice president and chief ambulatory officer at Bassett Healthcare Network.
A 2025 report by the New York State Comptroller’s Office concluded in part, “Healthcare professional shortages in rural New York persist despite efforts to address them. Without access to primary and preventative care, the rapidly aging populations of rural communities will require more specialty care and may suffer worse health outcomes.”
“Sadly, there are patients that go without care and have medical conditions, and the more healthcare we have within our communities, the better care that these people are going to be receiving,” Charles said. “And so while we try our best to be the resource that people need, it takes a village to care for a patient. Social determinants of health, transportation, food insecurity. Healthcare is one element to a vast spectrum that really treats the entire patient.”
Bassett Healthcare Network staff said there are unique challenges to offering healthcare in rural settings.
“Because new people don’t readily move into rural areas as much in upstate New York, we’re finding that our population continues to age and continues to get sicker, which increases the healthcare demands and versus a more urban environment, there’s simply less choices,” said Bassett Healthcare Network President and CEO Staci Thompson.
“I think it is a nice reassurance to know that there is a hospital in the area and these convenient care locations too, for the more minor things,” Rumi said.
The New York State Department of Health said they remain committed to strengthening rural healthcare through investments.
The state DOH also said they have an agreement with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for more than $200 million.
They said that’s for the first year of an expected five-year award for the Rural Health Transformation Program.