Nearly four years after he took over the position as Oswego Health’s vice president of public affairs and system development, former Oswego Mayor Billy Barlow finds himself juggling various responsibilities
By Stefan Yablonski
After being in politics and government for more than 10 years — both in local and state government and particularly through his experience as mayor of Oswego — Billy Barlow said he finds most people and situations quite relatable.
“On the flip side, healthcare is an extremely different and complex field of work than any other industry or field I have been involved in,” he said. “Oswego Health is also a much, much larger organization than the city government. So, it has been quite a bit different from what I expected in some respects. Regardless, I find it fun and rewarding to be involved in providing quality healthcare to my neighbors in the same community where I served as mayor for eight years and I am happy in my current position.”
Being the vice president of public affairs and system development means since 2022 he has to juggle a variety of different areas.
“My job involves lobbying for various issues and funding streams from the state and federal government, planning and executing future expansion and business development ideas, handling all real estate and property matters, leading all construction projects, overseeing both the facility and security teams, managing our Springside independent living facility at Seneca Hill and other duties as assigned,” he explained.
Challenges include the general complexities of the healthcare industry.
Obviously, everything in this field is heavily regulated and the most minute details cannot be overlooked, he added.
“Facility maintenance and general security in medical facilities are challenging issues that every healthcare organization nationwide faces and we are no exception,” he said. “Beyond that, sources of revenue are always a battle, as limited funds come from our federal and state governments and we must fight for our fair share of the always-too-tiny funding streams. Our goals are simple in nature, but far more complex in reality. We recently adopted a comprehensive, system-wide strategic plan with several goals, including improving access to our community, enhancing our brand and identity, building a more reliable and consistent fiscal position for the organization, and supporting our employees through creative, modern recruiting and retention strategies.”
He said he is probably most proud of Oswego Health’s recent expansion into Onondaga County and the opening of Oswego Health Medical Practice in Clay.
That project was something the organization had been talking about for 20 years, he said.
“Finally, with our CEO Mike Backus’ leadership and determination, we stopped talking and started doing. We settled on a goal and a location in the middle of 2025, put the entire project together and opened in March of 2026,” he said. “That is fast for any organization, especially one of our size.
“We opened a urology service line in Fulton, completed the $4 million improvement to the Fulton Medical Center, added more primary care access in the city of Fulton, began our $14 million first-floor transformation project at the hospital to expand the emergency department, medical imaging department and renovate the lobby and finally, we added a PET scanner at the hospital one day a week, the first PET scan in Oswego County, allowing patients who need PET scans to have it done right here at home versus traveling an hour to other area facilities. All these projects are transformative and have a real, direct impact on patient care and improving access in our community.”
A PET (positron emission tomography) scan is a specialized imaging test that uses a radioactive tracer to detect diseases at a cellular level by measuring metabolic activity in tissues and organs.
