Get used to dialing a new phone number for referrals and health care information.

The Cayuga Health Line, which gave non-emergency information to about 70 callers a month at its highest usage, will shut down today to make way for other methods of getting the same help.

"The health line and Cayuga Community Health Network projects are intended not to duplicate services, but to support them," said Jim Kennedy, the network's executive director. "Now we're responding differently to an increased need."

The toll-free help line opened five years ago when the Cayuga Community Health Network saw a need for referral services.

But Kennedy and the network's board of directors have seen that need diminish as costs to keep it running have increased.

"The amount of money we were spending on marketing was twice as much as what we were paying to subcontract the calls," he said.

The phone number fields an average of 20 calls a month, with more people turning on their computers rather than picking up the phone for health care information. And callers will soon be able to dial 211 to get the same information from a regional clearinghouse of health care information.

The United Way is spearheading the creation of regional 211 call centers across the United States. It currently serves more than 102 million Americans in 21 states and will soon expand coverage into Cayuga County with the Finger Lakes Region 211 call center.

Finger Lakes 211 is already operational in Monroe, Livingston and Ontario counties. Susan Hager, co-chair of the 211 New York Collaborative, said the regional approach will allow for more tailored responses to calls.

"We didn't want to have one call center in the sky - or here in Albany," said Hager, who is also president of the United Way of New York State. "We were trying to develop regional call centers to latch on to that local expertise."

To ensure regional service, all local 211 calls will be filtered to a call center in Rochester staffed by Lifeline, the same center that handled calls to the Cayuga Health Line. United Way of Rochester Executive Director Bill McCullough said June 1 would be a realistic launch date for service in Cayuga County.

Staff writer Liz Hacken can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 267 or elizabeth.hacken@lee.net