Vassar Brothers Medical Center to build $466M patient facility

The state Department of Health recently approved plans by Vassar Brothers Medical Center in Poughkeepsie to build a $466 million patient facility.

At its Oct. 8 meeting, the Public Health and Planning Council of the state Department of Health approved a 696,000-square-foot, seven-story pavilion that will house 264 patient rooms and 30 critical care rooms as well as an emergency department and trauma center with 66 treatment rooms and expanded parking for ambulances and the public.

Plans also include new operating rooms, a cafeteria with an outdoor veranda and a conference center.

“The state looked at our proposal and unanimously approved our goal to transform patient care and the patient and family experience in the Hudson Valley with this project,” Vassar Brothers Medical Center President Robert Friedberg said. “We will now continue the good work and partnership we have begun with the City of Poughkeepsie and Dutchess County so construction can begin next summer.”

Construction is scheduled to begin in July 2016 and the hospital expects to begin admitting patients by January 2019.

At $466 million, hospital officials said it is believed to be the largest construction project in the city’s history. Officials also estimated between 300 to 400 construction jobs will be created through the project.

The project is funded by private hospital funds and bonds as well as a continuing fundraising campaign by The Foundation for Vassar Brothers Medical Center.

Vassar Brothers Medical Center is the flagship of LaGrangeville-based Health Quest Systems, Inc., which also operates Northern Dutchess Hospital in Rhinebeck and Putnam Hospital Center in Carmel. Health Quest Board of Directors Chairman Greg Rakow called the new facility a “landmark” for the region.

“We are now one major step closer to opening what will be one of the finest medical facilities, not just in the Hudson Valley or New York state, but in the country,” Rakow said.

Vassar Brothers Medical Center, at 45 Reade Place in Poughkeepsie, has been in operation since 1887 and includes the Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and the Division of NeuroInterventional Surgery.