The Times Union is reporting that five area health care systems have been awarded almost $17.5 million in federal funds designed to help the facilities prosper as they deal with the public health and financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic, U.S. Sens. Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand said July 18. The awards announced: Columbia Memorial Hospital in Hudson, $4.5 million; Albany Medical Center, $5.64 million; St Peters Hospital in Albany, $2.95 million; Sunnyview Rehabilitation Hospital in Schenectady, $2.55 million; and, Nathan Littauer Hospital in Gloversville, $1.85 million. The senators said 86 New York hospitals will receive more than $680 million of a new $10 billion allocation designated for so-called hot spot hospitals. Hospitals are strained financially, losing hundreds of millions of dollars a month because of canceled elective procedures, increased staffing and overtime costs, expanded bed capacity and increased spending on supplies and equipment, Schumer noted. Read more about this story in the Times Union.