Bassett Medical Center in Cooperstown, New York, has announced an $82 million grant from the Scriven Foundation in support of staff recruitment and retention initiatives and improved access to care for patients.

The restricted grant will support investments in more competitive salaries, benefits, and retirement for practitioners; improved access to employee child care; increased affordable housing options for employees; new mentorship opportunities with local nursing schools; additional support staff and implementation of technologically driven solutions to decrease administrative demands on practitioners; and increased education and training programs for clinical staff.

“Bassett has strived to provide excellent patient care as a leader in fostering healthy rural communities for more than a century,” said Bassett Healthcare Network president and CEO Tommy Ibrahim. “Like hospitals and health systems across the country, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has created many challenges in retention and recruitment, especially among physicians, advanced practice clinicians, and nurses, which is negatively and unacceptably impacting patient access to care.”

“Bassett provides care and services to patients across eight counties and 5,600 square miles in central New York state,” said Jane Forbes Clark, chair of the Bassett Medical Center board of directors and president of the Scriven Foundation. “The organization’s tremendous footprint connects many thousands of patients with care who otherwise would not have access. I am proud of the critically important work Bassett has accomplished over more than 100 years—and continues to build upon—in rural medicine. On behalf of the Scriven Foundation, we are pleased to offer this impactful investment to bolster resources, benefits, and recruitment efforts for Bassett’s clinical workforce.”

(Photo credit: Getty Images/Hispanolistic)