William J. Kemble is reporting for the Daily Freeman in remarks delivered on January 26, U.S. Rep. Antonio Delgado told attendees at the Ulster County Regional Chamber of Commerce breakfast, that the current division between the Democrats and Republicans will not get in the way of working to resolve detrimental bureaucracy. At that meeting, Ellenville Regional Hospital President Steven Kelley noted that the Rhinebeck Democrat was able to work with Republican U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, of Schuylerville, to address problems caused by a regulation change that occurred without public input. “It was not in the federal register … that could lead to the closure of half of the small hospitals in New York,” he said. Kelley said Delgado and Stefanik have continued an 18-month push with recent efforts to have Congress adopt the Protecting Rural Access to Care Act, and making a direct appeal to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “Elise Stefanik, obviously, we’re not in the same party, there are different politics, but we care about an issue that speaks directly to our community,” Delgado said. “We both have critical access to hospitals that we know our communities depend upon, and that’s where the work needs to be done.” Other facilities impacted include Margaretville Hospital and O’Connor in Delhi. The proposed legislation restores the rural hospital criteria for determining a critical-access designation. Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.