Telehealth program partners Rensselaer Co. with insurance companies

Rensselaer County announced a new partnership with local insurance companies to offer a telehealth program.

It is called RenscoCares.org. It’s a website you can use as an alternative to calling 911 when you are sick.

The program helps patients figure out if they need an ER visit, an in person doctor visit or a telehealth visit.

County Executive Steve McLaughlin says this will help reduce the stress and call volume on first responders.

"If we can stop people from dialing 911 and calling an ambulance when they don’t need to, that is going to alleviate a lot of stress on our hospital systems, on our nurses and doctors who are overworked through this pandemic, on our ambulance and EMS services who are completely overworked," McLaughlin said.

McLaughlin is up for re-election Tuesday. His opponent is Democrat Gwen Wright.

MORE: RenscoCares.org