During a ceremony on Dec. 6, a portion of the Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla was named in honor of former Westchester County Executive and New York State Lt. Gov. Alfred B. DelBello. It’s known as the Alfred B. DelBello Concourse and was described as being a crossroads of the hospital.
DelBello, who passed away at age 80 in 2015, started in public service as a city councilman in Yonkers. He became mayor of that city in 1970 and was elected three times as Westchester County Executive beginning his tenure in that office in 1974. From 1983 to 1985 he was Lt. Governor of New York state. He was instrumental in building the physical plant for the Medical Center and transforming it into an institution independent of the county.
“This concourse extending from the Ambulatory Care Pavilion through the main tower of the hospital and when the construction you see behind you is complete the Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital as well as the new critical care tower of the campus, this is truly the crossroads for the campus,” Zubeen Shroff, board chair of the Westchester County Healthcare Corporation said. “Al DelBello shepherded this hospital to life, convincing the public of its need and overcame many political and financial obstacles to make it a reality.”
Invited guests for the concourse naming event included Deputy Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins, Former County Executive Rob Astorino, as well as medical center executives and staff members. Also on hand were friends and colleagues of Al’s wife Dee DelBello and DelBello family members.
Michael Israel, president and CEO of the Westchester Medical Center Health Network, said that Al DelBello “really pioneered the construction of this medical center and the building that we sit in now. Later in his career Al transitioned to private industry and legal practice and he maintained a strong connection to the public’s well-being through his work with organizations like Westchester Medical Center including as our board chairman.”
Israel praised Dee DelBello for helping create a lasting tribute to Al through the naming of the concourse, which he said would touch countless lives and inspire others for generations to come.
“I think it’s remarkably appropriate that this place, this concourse, will be named after Al,” Israel said. “By definition a concourse is an assemblage, a gathering or a coming of people together as well as a crossroad. As a leader and a statesman perhaps Al’s greatest talent was to bring people together and by doing so he accomplished so much including weathering significant crossroads where he both helped create and later save this institution.”
Mark Tulis, an attorney, former Westchester County Legislator and board member of the Westchester County Healthcare Corporation, recalled how DelBello felt that the Medical Center needed to be independent from the county.
“In 1997, we passed legislation to spin WMC off into a public benefit corporation,” Tulis said. “Al and I spoke about the process and he told me which political levers to pull. We had to remake the management of WMC away from the county, hiring staff, creating a board structure and committees and starting a process for supervision of the CEO and senior staff.”
After she participated in unveiling a plaque with Al DelBello’s photo that designates the Alfred B. DelBello Concourse, Dee DelBello thanked the guests for attending the event.
“When Al envisioned taking that broken down county hospital and building it into a tertiary medical center I don’t think he envisioned that a very capable and creative administrator like Mike Israel would come along and bring this medical center notoriety and presence within the Hudson Valley and nationwide,” DelBello said.
