Schenectady Coalition for Healthcare Access

04/02/2026

Sign the petition: https://my assembly.gov/mem/Angelo-Santabarbara/story/117446

03/05/2026

We are aware that a Letter to the Editor was published in today’s DG inferring that the Ellis/SPHP merger has already been finalized. To clarify, the MERGER HAS NOT TAKEN PLACE. As of this writing, the Certificate of Need (CON) has not been submitted to the NYS Department of Health. The entire merger process has lacked transparency and that continues to be of grave concern to SCHA and the entire Capital Region community. Follow this page for merger updates. Thank you.

03/03/2026

Join our community-led Health Equity Impact Assessment initiative!!! First meeting is this Thursday at 6-7pm by zoom.

The purpose of the community-led HEIA is to identify gaps in services, communication and transportation that will result from the merger between Ellis Medicine and St. Peter's Health Partners and will create negative impacts on traditionally marginalized groups like women, elderly, racial minorities, LGBTQ+ people, immigrants, people with low income or are under/uninsured, etc.

We need folks to be community outreach people (asking people to complete a survey at farmer’s markets and community events or through social media), interviewers (talk to real people about how they would be affected), transportation obstacle identifiers, demographic researchers, data analyst, online survey designer and analyst. Just DM us if you'd like to join this effort.

02/25/2026

⚠️Wait… Could this happen here? We are sounding the alarm about Schenectady's Ellis Medicine merging with a Catholic hospital system. 

Ellis Medicine (Ellis Hospital +, Bellevue Woman’s Center is merging with St. Peter’s Health Partners, part of Trinity Health, a billion-dollar, Michigan based, mega-health system with 90+ hospitals across the country.

🏥What’s at stake with this merger:

❤️ Reproductive health services

❤️ Sterilization & family planning

❤️ LGBTQ+ gender-affirming care

❤️ End-of-life care

❤️ Miscarriage & high-risk pregnancy management

❤️ Assisted reproductive technology

❤️ Contraception coverage through hospital employment

Follow us & share this post to friends could be impacted or want to spread the word. 

Sign our Petition in our link in bio

 

12/09/2025

Abortion care saves lives. Gender-affirming care saves lives.

We urge Governor Kathy Hochul to sign the New York Health Information Privacy Act, Shield Law 2.0, and the Hospital Transparency Act without further delay. Click the pic and link to tell Governor Hochul to sign these three bills to ensure that New Yorkers, or anyone visiting our state, can get the live-saving care they need:

Please take action!

10/13/2025

A letter to the editor recently published in the Daily Gazette.

10/03/2025

Show your support for reproductive health and our nurses by signing this petition!

Join nurses, community advocates, and allies in demanding that Ellis Medicine protect women's healthcare and restore surgical services at Bellevue Woman's Center!

08/13/2025

WE WILL BE LIVE STREAMING TONIGHT'S FORUM HERE AT 7PM (hopefully).

08/13/2025

There’s no better way to express your interest and concern for what’s happening at our local hospital than by showing up tonight at SUNY Schenectady at 7pm to hear from the nurses.

07/31/2025

ATTENTION! The nurses' union is holding a forum about the closing of Bellevue's operating room (and what it means for repro care in Schenectady County) on August 13 at 7pm at SUNY Schenectady's Van Curler Room. Spread the word!

The public deserves more information about the ramifications of closing the operating room at Bellevue and moving all surgeries - planned and emergent - to Ellis' Main Hospital on Nott Street. Pregnant women especially need to be told where they should go if they are bleeding, or experiencing premature contractions. What is the communication plan and the transportation plan for Bellevue patients who need unplanned surgery?

07/25/2025

ATTENTION! The nurses' union is holding a forum about the closing of Bellevue's operating room (and what it means for repro care in Schenectady County) on August 13 at 7pm at SUNY Schenectady's Van Curler Room. Spread the word!