Five floors and 113,000 square feet of new technology and services will soon be available to cancer patients at Putnam HospitalCenter in Carmel. A two-story lobby will welcome them, along with a donated baby grand player piano and stone fireplace, “which will really add to the atmosphere and caring environment we are striving to bring to our patients,” said hospital President Donna McGregor. “We see this as the beginning of a new era for Putnam County health care.”
For oncology patients in the region, it will mean a shorter trip for doctor visits and treatments, and a less-expensive one ”“ particularly when it comes to filling up at the pump.
“That (commuting to lower Westchester and New York City) can be a challenge in itself,” said Michael Weber, CEO of Health Quest, of which Putnam Hospital Center is a member. “Not only having to deal with the disease, the treatments and some of the after-effects, especially when you are going for daily radiation treatments or undergoing chemotherapy, but just trying to figure out how to work it into the day. Some treatments are daily and can take from four to six weeks. This will be a tremendous relief for the patient and the family or friend who is bringing them and picking them up after treatment.”
“Michael was so instrumental in putting together the project, we named the new community auditorium after him,” said McGregor. “Not only will the hospital have a place to hold programs but Putnam residents are welcome to use it. It seats 200 people and it was built for the community. We are encouraging them to use it.”
The new five-story wing”™s ribbon was officially cut June 26, and patients at the Camarda Care Center, which houses the Wagner Cancer Pavilion and Agarwal Center for Radiation Oncology, will be pleased to see what awaits them.
In addition, there are 70 single-patient rooms, allowing for privacy and adding to infection control for cancer patients whose immune systems are at risk, and new offices for physicians. Outside, 400 parking spaces have been added on the 44-acre campus of the hospital, the county”™s largest employer.
Putnam Hospital”™s $34 million addition was funded by private donations and structured borrowing. The hospital”™s Campaign for Tomorrow not only reached its goal of $15 million in donations but has almost passed the $16 million mark, said McGregor.
“Without the philanthropic help of Paul Camarda and other significant donors, this new center would not have been possible,” said McGregor. “Particularly the fact that it was done in four years.”
The Camarda Care Center is awaiting the official OK to open from the state Department of Health. “We have been working very closely with the DOH, so we hope to get our official approval before the end of the July,” said McGregor.
Now that the hospital has shifted around some of its 164 beds, McGregor said plans to expand the physical therapy department and mental health in-patient unit are the next capital project. “We expect that cost to be somewhere around $6 million. After talking with Putnam and Dutchess officials and hospital colleagues, we really have seen the need to expand our mental health unit, and are doing what we can to accommodate the needs of the community.”
John Federspiel, president of Hudson Valley Hospital Center in Cortlandt Manor, welcomed the new oncology services to the region. “Resources really needed to be expanded,” said Federspiel. “What Putnam Hospital has done and what we are incorporating in our own construction project are all going to be positive improvements for the residents of this growing area. I commend Putnam Hospital for what they”™ve done.
“We are about two years out from finalizing our own construction. We already have a robust cancer program here, but our new addition will allow us to house all our cancer services under one roof. It”™s a very exciting program,” one Federspiel said is being done in phases.
“We”™re going to open new special care areas for more critically ill patients this fall, and in 2009, our new operating rooms and related space is opening up.”
The hospital also plans to expand its “no wait” emergency room capacity from 17 to 34 private triage rooms. “We do triage and immediately get patients into a treatment area and do bedside registration. Right now, we see over 100 patients a day in our ER. We”™re growing with the community.”
Federspiel said the ER upgrades will be completed by 2010.
The hospital”™s project will cost approximately $110 million and include new physician offices, renovation of existing space and the new addition. “The major part of the project, 84 private rooms planned for oncology patients, is the final lynchpin,” he said. “When all is said and done, we will be fully operational in 2011.”
