But when she got to Brooks, she suffered a heart attack while signing in at the lobby of the emergency room. She underwent CPR for more than three hours and was shocked with a defibrillator 77 times. Although Niedbalski lost the use of her legs as a result of the incident, the actions of the staff at Brooks Memorial Hospital likely saved her life.

If she had to travel an hour or more to a health-care facility, rather than 10-15 minutes to Brooks, it could have been a much different outcome. Her story is a glaring example of the importance of rural healthcare.

“They did not give up on me, and we as a community cannot give up on this hospital and the folks here,” Niedbalski said. “Please join me in the fight to save our hospital.”

To emphasize the need for a functional, sustainable healthcare facility in northern Chautauqua County, leaders from across the region came together Thursday in Dunkirk with the same goal — to demand funds be released by Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state Department of Health for a new hospital in northern Chautauqua County.

Emergency Room Nurse Kenny Long, pictured at left, demanded leaders in Albany take rural healthcare in northern Chautauqua County seriously. Registered Nurse Carrie Fearman, pictured at right, a 20-year professional of Brooks Memorial Hospital, called on the state Department of Health to prioritize rural healthcare. P-J photos by Braden Carmen

After years of delays, hospital workers, union members and community leaders demanded the release of more than $70 million that Brooks Hospital needs to build a new facility in the village of Fredonia.

Chants of “Build Brooks now!” rang through a crowd of more than a hundred people gathered outside the campus of Brooks-TLC Hospital System on Thursday. Signs that contained the same message were held by members of the audience throughout more than 40 minutes of speakers addressing the topic.

Emergency Room Nurse Kenny Long asked the crowd if they shared his anger and concern. “You should be angry,” Long said. “I’m tired of feeling like I don’t matter. … We matter, and it’s time that we show Albany that we matter.”

Long has worked at Brooks for over two decades. He spoke of his pride for becoming a nurse, and he stressed the importance of the basic need for rural healthcare.

“I’ve seen firsthand what happens when minutes do matter,” Long said. “The closure of this hospital would not only be an inconvenience for everybody, it will be a death sentence for some … and I cannot stand by here right now and let that happen.”

Linda Niedbalski, who credits the staff at Brooks Memorial Hospital for saving her life, spoke on Thursday to the importance of having a local hospital.

Dunkirk Mayor Willie Rosas and Fredonia Mayor Doug Essek each spoke at the rally, as did County Executive PJ Wendel, Assemblyman Andy Goodell, Lisa Vanstrom on behalf of Sen. George Borrello, and Presley Redeye of the Seneca Nation.

“We need accessible healthcare in Chautauqua County, especially in the north county. I am committed to making sure the governor hears our voice,” Wendel said. “She’s heard it from (Borrello), she’s heard it from (Goodell), she’s heard it from me, she’s heard it from the mayors. Now she needs to hear it from everyone else, because you are the backbone. You are the ones who, hopefully, can get her to change her mind, release the funds, and support healthcare in northern Chautauqua County. It’s dire, we need it, and I stand here committed with you.”

Both the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) and 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East stood in solidarity throughout the speakers to address the crowd.

Registered Nurse Carrie Fearman, a 20-year professional of Brooks Memorial Hospital, said, “I am speaking here today to demand that New York state listen to the nurses. It’s time to build a new Brooks Hospital now.”

Fearman spoke to her pride of caring for the community. She also referred to the impact of Lakeshore Hospital’s closure, which came just months prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

More than 100 people gathered for a rally at Brooks Memorial Hospital on Thursday to demand Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state Department of Health release funding for a new hospital in northern Chautauqua County.

“Its closure disrupted community care, caused confusion, fear, and anger within the community, and here we are again,” Fearman said. “We will not allow another closure to happen. We are organized this time. Healthcare workers, community members, elected officials, and labor unions are all working together to tell our state government that rural health matters. Our community matters. … It’s time for our state to prioritize rural healthcare and prevent the loss of any more healthcare facilities. It’s time to build a new Brooks Hospital, it’s what our community deserves.”

Plans for the new facility call for emergency services with 12 bays, 15 medical and surgical beds, four surgical suites and two rooms for procedure, imaging with CT scans, MRI and ultrasound, stat lab services, a pharmacy, support services and a helipad. The planned site would be off East Main Street in Fredonia, near the Fredonia Central School District campus.

Essek mentioned the presence of a university campus during his time to speak. “If the New York State Department of Health does not build a new Brooks Hospital, SUNY Fredonia students will be the only students in the SUNY system that will not have easy access to a fully functional hospital. Our students and their parents deserve better than that.”

Goodell spoke to the reality of the current Brooks Hospital site. Goodell referenced a Blue Ribbon Task Force, comprised of healthcare experts across the region, created to document the need for a new hospital. “That group met every single week, for hours on end. With the help and support and the data provided by (Brooks CEO) Ken Morris and his team, they issued a report that documented what you already know,” Goodell said to the crowd. “A new hospital is critical for this area. It’s critical for healthcare, it’s critical for our workers, and most important, it’s critical for the health and wellbeing of our friends and our neighbors. Now, Albany needs to hear our voice. They need to hear it loud and clear: Build Brooks now.”

The location of the new hospital has been debated for many years. But Thursday, leaders recognized the bigger picture, none moreso than Rosas.

“I can’t tell you how hard it is for me to be the mayor of this city, and to be here advocating for funds that may take this hospital out of our city,” Rosas said. “There is a bigger issue at hand, folks. … The hospital is in jeopardy of nonexistence. We’re talking about no hospital here in northern Chautauqua County.”

Rosas continued, “I’m not here advocating for a location of the hospital. I am here advocating for the existence of Brooks Hospital in northern Chautauqua County. I’m also calling on all the leaders in our community … to come together. This issue is going to require all of us to collaboratively send that message to our Governor that these funds are needed here. We need Brooks Hospital here.”