One of the most frequent things I’ve heard from members of the Oneonta community since I became president and CEO of Bassett Healthcare Network is: “When are you bringing more services back to A.O. Fox Hospital?”
What you may not know is that I also serve as president of A.O. Fox Hospital, where I have a local office that I spend time in every week. I’m here to tell you that A.O. Fox Hospital is growing — and I am committed to the facility’s success as a crucial resource in the community. On July 1, Fox opened a new eight-bed universal inpatient care unit. The unit will serve patients admitted to the hospital who require a higher level of inpatient care.
With all-private rooms, excellent surgical facilities, space capabilities to house more than 60 patients, and the busiest emergency department in Bassett Healthcare Network, Fox Hospital has all the potential to be a hub facility for communities in Otsego County and beyond.
Fox saw 25,837 emergency department visits in 2024. The hospital is uniquely positioned to care for diverse patients in a more densely populated area. The universal care unit contains acuity-adaptable rooms that have the resources to accommodate a wide range of patient care needs. We simply need more beds — and Fox is the perfect place to grow our space. This resource flexibility will allow A.O. Fox Hospital to admit more diverse clinical cases and reduce the need to transfer patients to Bassett Medical Center in Cooperstown or out-of-network. Patients can receive treatment and heal in the comfort of a private environment close to home.
An additional service of this unit includes Bassett Healthcare Network’s partnership with Equum, a tele-critical care service, which ensures we have 24/7 access to specialized critical care with on-call tele-intensivists. By offering more critical care resources at Fox, Bassett Healthcare Network will operate more efficiently across the region, preserving bed space in Cooperstown for high-level care needs such as trauma and neurosurgery, heart surgery and advanced cancer care that can only be accomplished at Bassett Medical Center.
Our goal is always to keep patients within Bassett Healthcare Network. If we can keep them as close to home as possible, all the better — because we know people experience more successful medical outcomes overall if they receive frequent visits from loved ones and are in a comfortable and familiar place. Fox’s universal care unit is just one way Bassett Healthcare Network is investing in the Oneonta community. Now, with more inpatient accommodations in place, future surgical patients will benefit from seamless services under one roof while they heal. We will continue to expand our surgical care options at Fox, with future plans to grow our ear, nose and throat and orthopedic services, among other disciplines. Additionally, you may have seen news about Friends of Bassett’s $2 million fundraising campaign for a major expansion of FoxCare Center’s cancer treatment clinic.
Fox has been serving Oneonta and its surrounding communities for more than 120 years. It is exciting to see the ways Fox is thriving as a location with growing space and capabilities — and it is a privilege to be part of this amazing facility’s story. I look forward to sharing future initiatives with the community. Thank you for entrusting us with your care.