Hudson Valley Hospital to Begin Work On New Office Building in Few Weeks

Confetti filed the air as hospital officials cut the ribbon for a new all private room tower building, part of a $100-million expansion program at Hudson Valley Hospital Center in Mount Kisco.

By JOHN JORDAN

CORTLANDT MANOR, NY – Although most of the work associated with the hospital’s $100-million expansion program has been completed, Hudson Valley Hospital Center officials said they expect to begin construction on the last component of that effort—a new office building—in a few weeks.

Hospital officials told CONSTRUCTION NEWS that the $15-million project will involve the development of a three-story, 53,000-square-foot medical office building. The building, which will take about a year to complete, will house offices for physicians and a Comprehensive Cancer Center on the ground floor.

On June 24, many benefactors, employees and public officials gathered for the grand opening of the new four-story, all-private room patient tower on the grounds of the Hudson Valley Hospital Center in Cortlandt Manor, NY.

The ribbon-cutting event was the latest milestone in the hospital’s expansion program that began eight years ago. The initiative has doubled the size of the hospital and has dramatically enhanced the services provided at the campus. In the past three years of construction an additional 110,000 square feet of space has been added, while another 23,000 square feet of existing space has been renovated. Construction of the various new projects under the expansion program first broke ground three years ago. The architect for the expansion program is Perkins Eastman of New York City. The construction manager is Barr and Barr of New York City.

The long list of amenities at the new tower building includes the expansion of the hospital’s “No Wait” emergency room. The ER is now double in size and contains 39 treatment bays along with a specially designed room for children. The tower features 84 private patient rooms.

“This all private room patient tower, which we dedicate today, is designed with extraordinary natural light throughout the structure,” said John C, Federspiel, president of Hudson Valley Hospital Center. “We truly achieved our goal of creating a life affirming environment.”

Edward B. McDonald Jr., chairman of the hospital’s Board of Directors, characterized the new patient tower as “simply stunning.” He told the gathering, “Today was eight years in the making and there were some that did not believe that this could be done. While we did it and we are all busting with pride, today is a testament to our Board’s leadership and to this hospital’s team spirit to achieve.”

Also speaking at the ribboncutting event was Westchester County Executive Robert Astorino, who congratulated the hospital on its successful expansion program. “You have basically created a new hospital, double the size of what it used to be… You truly have come a long way. Not only have you brought in some of the most advanced medical technologies but you have succeeded in your goal of creating a healing environment with a calming effect.”

In addition to the new patient tower, the expansion program has also included the completion of a new Surgery Center with state of the art operating suites; a new post anesthesia recovery area; a reception lobby that opened in March 2010; and a new 450-space parking garage, which also opened in March of this year. Also part of the expansion initiative is: a new Center for Rehabilitation Services, which opened in October 2009; the Institute for Wound Care & Hyperbaric Medicine, for patients with wounds that do not heal, which opened in August 2009; the Pataki Center—a conference and meeting center—which was dedicated by former New York Governor George Pataki in July 2009; and the October 2008 opening of the Progressive Care Unit, which is a full telemetry unit for patients well enough to be transferred from Intensive Care but not healthy enough to be placed in the regular patient unit.

A majority of the financing for the $100-million expansion program came from $72 million in New York State Dormitory Authority bonds backed by the Federal Housing Administration. The remainder of the funding came from private sources and hospital funds.

Hudson Valley Hospital Center Chief Financial Officer Mark Webster said that once construction of the office building is completed the hospital will then focus on its Intensive Care Unit and decide whether to renovate the existing ICU, finished in 1976, or build new.

“We are still in the early days on that but it is the next identifiable need,” Mr. Webster said. The hospital’s to-do list will also be studying whether to renovate the existing Obstetrics, Labor and Delivery unit, which is currently about 15 years old.

Mr. Webster said that planning has just begun on those future initiatives and that the hospital could get started seriously working on planning and financing those projects in about two years.

This is part of the July 1, 2010 online edition of Construction News.

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