Institute Awarded $1.8M to Build Call Center in New Paltz, NY

New Paltz, NY (July 24, 2017) – The Institute for Family Health was awarded more than $1.8 million by New York State as part of the Statewide Health Care Facility Transformation Program. The funding will support the development of a 24-hour Call Center, located at the Institute’s David N. Mesches, MD Health Campus, 279 Main Street in New Paltz, NY. The Institute will renovate a 3,700 square foot space on the second floor to house the center that will serve all 31 of its health centers.

The Institute began piloting Call Center services for four of its health centers in 2015, utilizing a small space in the New Paltz facility. The expanded Call Center will be staffed by 24 patient service representatives, registered nurses, and a manager. It will be able to accept incoming calls for the Institute’s health centers in New York City, Ulster and Dutchess counties. Trained staff will triage, address, or reroute calls as appropriate.

“Effective and efficient medical care today depends on timely access to telephonic advice,” said Neil Calman, MD, president and CEO of the Institute. “Our call center staff will be available at all times, including nights and weekends, to help our patients refill prescriptions, manage referrals, and schedule appointments. They will also provide telephone-based outreach, follow-up on hospitalizations and emergency room visits, and offer care coordination, health education, adherence counseling, triage support, and linkages to health and social services. This project underlines the Institute’s commitment to serving the needs of our patients, as we continue to work to improve both clinical outcomes and the patients’ experience.”

Call Center services will be available 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, 365 days per year, and will be supported by the Institute’s state-of-the-art electronic health record and multi-function patient portal.