Jun 18, 2026
Rep. Nick Langworthy is given a tour of UPMC Chautauqua Hospital by hospital President Tracy Gates, left, and Vice President of Patient Care Services Emelia Harley.
JAMESTOWN — On Wednesday, while Congress was not in session, Rep. Nick Langworthy decided to visit UPMC Chautauqua.
It was his first visit since being elected to Congress, but far from his first visit to the hospital.
Langworthy was actually born at the Jamestown hospital back when it was called WCA. He’s also had family and friends who have been patients at the hospital and made visits to see them.
He was shown the Emergency Room, the Maternity Care Center and more.
UPMC Chautauqua is the only place in Chautauqua County that has a maternity center. Recently Warren General closed theirs as well.
On average, the hospital has about 700 births annually.
UPMC officials noted they have about 110 patients a day in their emergency room, which equates to about 40,000 people annually. Many of those are for behavioral issues.
Emelia Harley, Vice President of Care Services, noted that oftentimes when someone is arrested he or she is brought to the hospital for a mental health evaluation.
“There’s a lot of mental health issues,” she said during a discussion with hospital staff and the congressman before the tour took place.
Harley noted they have a child in their emergency room that has been there for eight weeks because of mental health.
“We can’t get him placed anywhere,” she said.
Harley’s concern is twofold – that the cost of emergency care is quite expensive, and secondly, that a person who has an immediate physical need could be waiting for care for a long period of time.
Harley added that this is a concern not just of UPMC Chautauqua, but Brooks Hospital in Dunkirk, Olean General Hospital, and other hospitals that serve a rural community.
Langworthy said he completely understands and sees similar issues at larger hospitals as well.
“I’ve certainly seen it in the EDs (Emergency Departments). In every hospital, executives have told me about mental health problems in EDs. You go to Buffalo General and you have people virtually living in the waiting room in the ED just because they can stay and there’s nothing you can really do about it,” he said.
WORKFORCE CHALLENGES
UPMC President Tracy Gates said one of their biggest issues is staffing.
“Workforce is the lifeblood of our organization. We can’t do what we do without our workforce. Every single thing we do requires technology but it also requires a workforce,” she said.
Gates added it’s not just hospital staff, it’s also providers and getting access to primary care physicians specialists.
“Building our own workforce in rural New York I think is a challenge,” she said.
Gates noted they work closely with colleges to train staff, but many schools don’t have a program for nurses.
“For these colleges to invest in a new RN program, it’s millions of dollars of investments and they don’t get that back, so colleges aren’t building new cohorts. We have to find unique innovative ways to partner with them to try to equip them with some of the things they need to grow programs,” she said.
FEDERAL ASSISTANCE
After the discussion and tour, Langworthy held a news conference and noted how rural hospitals face unique challenges.
“They don’t get the luxury of having a multi-billion dollar endowment,” he said.
To support hospitals like UPMC Chautauqua, Langworthy said last year they were able to create the Rural Health Transformation Fund. It provides $50 billion over the next five years nationwide to help transform rural care delivery.
“I view this as a down payment. It’s something that we have to continue to replenish. This wasn’t a one-time, one shot. This is something that we can continue to grow. This is money back acknowledging that rural healthcare is finally getting the attention that it deserves,” he said.
Langworthy noted he is helping UPMC Chautauqua with a funding request for the School of Radiology, the X-Ray training lab.
“We have secured $300,000 in the base text of that bill that will receive congressional action soon,” he said.
In another piece of legislation, Langworthy said he has introduced the CHECK Act, which stands for Clear Healthcare Expense Cost Knowledge Act.
The purpose of the bill is to help patients know what they are paying for in medical expenses.
“Too often patients are forced to decipher murky costs that make you feel like you’re trying to translate a foreign language,” he said.
Langworthy said the CHECK Act “takes a common sense approach to deliver more transparency, more accessibility, and more information for patients,” he said.
He said the bill will require more oversight of things like pharmacy benefit managers, third party administrators and other vendors that influence healthcare costs overall.
“Until we can count the money and really get a clear view of who spends what and how much, and what things really truly cost, we’re never going to tackle the high and increasing costs of delivering healthcare,” he said.
Gates said Langworthy’s goals are the same as UPMC’s.
“What I heard today was that Congressman Langworthy is committed to making sure that we have affordable, sustainable, and viable healthcare across the region, across our country, but also in our rural areas. We’re committed to the same thing,” she said.
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