diff --git a/cmd/cognitive-worker/main.go b/cmd/cognitive-worker/main.go
index e6f76e4..36b26f9 100644
--- a/cmd/cognitive-worker/main.go
+++ b/cmd/cognitive-worker/main.go
@@ -139,7 +139,10 @@ func main() {
 			mediumHeaders["Authorization"] = "Bearer " + mediumAPIKey
 		}
 		mediumHealthProbe = health.OptionalHTTPProbeWithHeaders(mediumReadinessClient, mediumEndpoint, mediumHeaders)
-		mediumHealthProbe.Timeout = 2 * time.Second
+		// The local gateway may need several seconds to enumerate a loaded model.
+		// Keep this bounded, but do not classify a healthy MEDIUM provider as
+		// unavailable before its authenticated discovery response can arrive.
+		mediumHealthProbe.Timeout = 15 * time.Second
 	}
 	readinessProbes := []health.Probe{
 		health.HTTPProbe(readinessClient, strings.TrimRight(envOr("CORE_RUNTIME_URL", "http://core-runtime:8080"), "/")+"/healthz"),