Garnet Health Medical Center – Catskills Strong Commitment to Sullivan County

Garnet Health Medical Center – Catskills has proudly served the people of Sullivan County for more than 50 years. It is the only hospital in Sullivan County with two locations, in Harris and Callicoon, and the staff is committed to providing high-quality, compassionate care along with a wide range of medical services—including critical-access emergency care, surgical procedures and specialized treatments—to meet the changing healthcare needs of the community.
“The healthcare landscape is ever-evolving, and sometimes it can be confusing to know how—and where—to get care,” says Jerry Dunlavey, CEO for Garnet Health Medical Center – Catskills. “But our mission at Garnet Health – Catskills remains the same. We are here for Sullivan County.”
Garnet Health – Catskills’ two hospitals have close to 300 doctors and more than 600 staff providing inpatient and outpatient services, while Garnet Health Doctors offers convenient access to primary care, urgent care and multispecialty providers. Every year, they care for nearly 400,000 outpatients and help more than 3,700 people admitted to the hospital.

Benefits of a Health System 
As a health system, Garnet Health is greater than the sum of its parts. The system consists of:

• Garnet Health Medical Center – Catskills
• Garnet Health Medical Center
• Garnet Health Doctors
• Garnet Health Urgent Care
• Garnet Health Foundation
• Garnet Health Foundation – Catskills

“While each of these entities stands on its own, together we are stronger. Being a network means care is continuous and fluid—and perhaps most importantly, always close to home,” states Dunlavey.

It is not always possible to offer the same services at each hospital. Being part of a health system allows Garnet Health to offer award-winning and state-of-the-art care throughout our communities. This means families can be much closer to their loved ones and not have to drive to New York City, Albany or Westchester for care.

Building for the Future
Garnet Health is actively working toward an exciting future that includes building a brand-new hospital here in Sullivan County. 
In 2019, Garnet Health – Catskills started researching how to build a replacement hospital for the Harris facility. Although the COVID pandemic put plans on hold for a few years, the process resumed in 2023. A new study, done by Halsa Advisors, concluded that while the current hospital is perfectly safe, it needs to be replaced with a design that meets today’s high standards, offering a space that supports healing, as well as new technology that will enhance the quality of care.
The study also found that repairing and renovating the old hospital would cost more than building a new one, depleting funding needed for new equipment and other capital investments.

“Building a new hospital gives us the opportunity to improve the patient experience by offering single-patient rooms,” says Dunlavey. “And, we are looking at locations that are closer to public transportation, helping to solve a big problem for many people in Sullivan County—getting to and from their medical appointments.”
Garnet Health – Catskills hopes to build a destination campus. In addition to offering the care and services patients expect at a hospital, the campus could also be home to vital health and human services provided by other county organizations. This would give patients more complete care, all in one place. “We want to build something new and transformative,” says Dunlavey. “In collaborating with other Sullivan County health and human service agencies, we are thinking about not only what is right for our community, but also a design that could become a model for other rural communities around the state and country.”

Strong Support from Our Community
Garnet Health – Catskills has met with numerous county stakeholders who have provided great input and support for the hospital’s vision of a new campus. “We are fortunate to have so many agencies and organizations in Sullivan County supporting our efforts because they strongly believe in the importance of accessible, high-quality healthcare for our community,” states Dunlavey. “I’m so proud to be part of a collaboration that is truly focused on creating a healthier future for Sullivan County.”

  More articles

Deija Davis-Montes, BS

Marketing and Corporate Communications Specialist
Deija Davis-Montes is Garnet Health’s Marketing and Corporate Communications Specialist. She received her Bachelor of Science in Advertising and Marketing Communications from the Fashion Institute of Technology.  Deija is passionate about nonprofit work, communication that creates impact, and helping organizations share their mission and vision with clarity and purpose.
Deija can be reached at (845) 333-2368 or dmontes@garnethealth.org