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Hudson Valley Hospital Center to Construct New Wing
All hospital rooms in wing to be private by Margaret Sternberg
Dignitaries and staff gathered at the Hudson Valley Hospital to witness the groundbreaking for their new tower
A ceremonial ground breaking took place June 15, 2007 at the Hudson Valley Hospital Center in Cortlandt Manor, symbolizing the start of construction of a 133,000-square- foot tower that will be placed in front of the present structure on the hospital campus. The $100 million project actually started June 18 and is expected to open in the summer of 2009.
The ceremony drew a galaxy of officials, including NYS Senator Vincent Leibell, Westchester County Executive Andrew Spano, Putnam Valley Supervisor Sam Davis, Cortlandt Town Supervisor Linda Puglisi and NYS Assemblyman Greg Ball.
The new building is anticipated to increase patient capacity at the hospital by 15 percent through the utilization of all rooms. According to Pat Morrow, VP of Marketing, all bed space cannot currently always be used in a semi-private room environment due to restrictions such as the need to keep patients with infections isolated and keeping only patients of the same sex in semiprivate rooms.
According to the hospital, the new structure is designed to provide more natural light and more space, thereby inducing a calming effect, which "benefits everyone, including staff." The location of the new tower is also anticipated to reduce noise and minimize distractions for the staff.
The new wing is expected to allow nurses to spend more time with patients by placing supplies and smaller nursing stations throughout the facility instead of in one location.
The project includes two new specialty operating rooms that are 50 percent larger than typical operating rooms in order to provide staff with all the equipment and supplies necessary to the surgery within a short distance. The typical windowless recovery room will be replaced with a new recovery room in which every recovery spot has a windowed space. The project will also introduce a new electronic medical records system.
The hospital plans to convert all rooms that are now semi-private to private rooms. According to Mark Webster, VP of Finance, the rationale for going to only private rooms is "the risk of cross-contamination and infection to the patient is amplified" when there is more than one patient per room.
Asked to address the issue of most cross-contamination occurring due to health care providers not washing their hands between patients, Webster said the hospital has a "pretty stringent program of hand washing, which is not just our institution, but mandated [by the commission that accredits hospitals]. We've always met or exceeded those standards, and what we've found is our infections are not caused by that. They're caused by picking up the infections by other residents coming in from nursing homes or coming in from home."
Webster was also asked about rates of payment for private versus semi-private rooms and said that private rooms are not more profit-generating than semi-private rooms, adding "the way that the contracts are in virtually every institution in NYS, you get paid the same rate whether it's a private room or a semi-private room. There is no differential…same rate for private and semiprivate."
Webster said that "on a given day, about 10 - 15 percent of our rooms are only occupied by one patient, so that the other bed is unavailable." He explained that that affects the emergency room by necessitating that patients stay in the emergency room "longer than we would want them to. That backs up" He also noted that dementia patients require a private room and that, in general, private rooms provide privacy for the patient, the patient's family and the doctor.
During one of several speeches given that morning, Senator Leibell credited the work that "has been and will be done on the hospital" on the dedication of the health care staff, calling the population the hospital cares for "well-served by this great hospital and its great team of health care professionals."
Westchester County Executive Spano called the addition and the services it would provide "needed here in Westchester and in the Hudson Valley."
Edward B. MacDonald, Jr., HVHC Hospital Board Chair, declared that the addition will "vault this hospital into the next decade," noting the addition will have a "new comprehensive cancer care center sharing a new facility for physicians" and a "three-level parking garage with 400 spaces," a comment that drew hearty laughter and applause.
The firms of Perkins Eastman and Barr & Barr, Inc. will be handling the project. Among many projects that Perkins Eastman has handled are Phelps Memorial Hospital, Northern Westchester Hospital and Westchester Medical Center. Barr & Barr's projects have included Lawrence Hospital, Northern Westchester Hospital and Sound Shore Medical Center.
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