The Kingston Planning Board has given unanimous final approval to plans presented by HealthAlliance of the Hudson Valley, a member of the Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth), to build a new $92 million HealthAlliance Hospital on Mary's Avenue in the city of Kingston.
The board's approval, at its Monday night meeting, immediately followed a presentation by WMCHealth and HealthAlliance executives of the site's architectural and construction plans.
"We're pleased to have received this support, where all parties are in full agreement," said Robert S. Ross, Executive Vice President, Northern Region, WMCHealth. "This new, high-tech hospital will create an environment that provides the best in personalized, patient- and family-centered healthcare."
Thomas Collins, Chairman of the HealthAlliance Board of Directors, said, "This approval, combined with an expected state Department of Health green light for our plans, will permit us to transform our community hospital, currently on two campuses, into a 21st century single-campus model of first-class healthcare delivery."
HealthAlliance submitted architectural renderings and construction drawings to the health department last month.
"The new hospital is designed to focus on patients and families, while improving work areas and increasing staff productivity," Ross added. "In short, practically every design furthers the goal of providing the highest-quality medical treatment for patients and a highly functional environment for our workforce."
The expanded hospital will feature the addition of a new, two-story, 79,000-square-foot building adjoining the current HealthAlliance Hospital: Mary's Avenue Campus, as well as a full renovation of 48,000 square feet of space within the existing Mary's Avenue Campus hospital.
Key components of the new 175-bed facility will include a newly constructed 25,000-square-foot emergency care center that will incorporate special services for cardiac observation and behavioral health; a newly constructed 10-bed intensive care unit, along with a six-bed medical "stepdown" unit, providing an intermediate level of care between the ICU and the new hospital's medical-surgical wards. Most patient rooms will be private, designed to reduce noise, enhance rest and facilitate healing.
The hospital will also feature a newly constructed birthing center with ultramodern labor, delivery and postpartum rooms. The building will have a new imaging department and fully remodeled centers for ambulatory surgery, infusion therapy and endoscopy.
A new, welcoming hospital lobby with central registration and admitting, financial counseling, family support services, a retail pharmacy, a gift shop and comfortable waiting areas is another of the hospital's planned amenities.
The new hospital will let HealthAlliance consolidate all inpatient and emergency services, currently split between the Broadway and Mary's Avenue campuses, into one convenient location. The current Broadway Campus is to be converted into a "medical village" -- an innovative focal point for the area's outpatient healthcare and related needs -- after patient care services at Broadway are relocated to the new Mary's Avenue site.
The combined project, known as the Healthy Neighborhood Initiative, is expected to cost $133.6 million. Some $88.8 million of the total will come from the state Capital Restructuring Financing Program, with the balance coming from WMCHealth, HealthAlliance and a capital fundraising campaign.
Artist's Rendering of New HealthAlliance Hospital (Lobby Entrance)
Artist's Rendering of New HealthAlliance Hospital
(Emergency Department Entrance)