St. Francis Hospital, the only Level 2 trauma center in the Hudson Valley region, is also one of the busiest in Dutchess County: 32,000 patients went through its emergency room doors in 2006, accounting for 6,000 admissions.
Of the 32,000 ER patients, 8,000 were trauma patients. As numbers keep growing, St. Francis started a capital campaign to increase the size of its emergency room and trauma center to meet demand.
St. Francis says the hospital will meet or exceed the same number of ER admissions in 2007 and anticipates an additional 1,400 trauma patients.
Last month, St. Francis broke ground on a $9.4 million addition that will double the size of its current ER from 8,000 to 16,000 square feet. In the process, it will add 11 private-care rooms, bringing the total private-care rooms to 27. It will also enlarge the private-care areas, providing extra space for needed technology and equipment at each bedside.
The expansion will create a new four bed “prompt-care” unit, enabling patients with less serious injuries to be treated quickly. A separate pediatric care room, with monitoring equipment, crib and stretcher, rocking chair and child-friendly décor to assuage hospital fears among its younger set is on the design board. A larger waiting room for patients seeking care will make the wait a bit more comfortable.
Another new component will be an external decontamination area, providing isolation rooms for patients subjected to chemical or bio-terrorism exposure or infectious diseases, such as SARS.
The new ER will be named James J. McCann Emergency Care Center, and the trauma unit will be named George F. Whalen Family Trauma Center, said hospital spokesman Larry Hughes. “Both families have been generous supporters of St. Francis.”
The Father Brinn Center for Psychiatric Care will also provide a private area designed for emergency psychiatric patients, creating three new trauma bays, an expanded nurses”™ station and a private consultation area. It is the only psychiatric emergency center in Dutchess County.
A boost from St. Francis”™ Empire Zone status has helped lure contributions to the hospital”™s capital campaign
The hospital has raised almost two-thirds of the cost of the expansion through private donations of almost $6 million. The remaining funds will come from the hospital”™s capital campaign. “No public funds are paying for this expansion; hopefully, we”™ll reach our goal,” said Hughes. “We expect the project to be completed within 14 months.”
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St. Francis Hospital is designated as part of the Poughkeepsie-Dutchess Empire Zone development project. Anyone who donates $1,000 or more to projects at the Poughkeepsie campus ”“ including the ER expansion ”“ may be eligible to receive an additional 25 percent tax credit applied to their New York State tax return in addition to the standard deductions.
When New York State Business Development Corp. chairman Patrick Foye was appointed by Eliot Spitzer, he told members of the Poughkeepsie Area Chamber of Commerce that Empire Zones have been abused in many areas, and the program may be put on hold, or dismantled, while the state investigates allegations of misuse. How will this affect St. Francis”™ EZ status?
“The state has good reason to question some of the use of Empire Zone money,” said Bob Lane, executive director of the
St. Francis Health Foundation. “We have had Empire Zone designation since 2004 and are permitted $350,000 in tax credits each year. It was designed to encourage charitable support to support local nonprofits, especially hospitals and related services. New York State deemed this a good incentive for people to donate money that helps create jobs and stimulate the economy.”
Might the EZ designation end? “We certainly hope not,” said Lane. “It”™s really unfortunate that people have abused the system. As of now, there is $145,000 in EZ money for tax credits for those who donate to the hospital before Dec. 31, 2007. After that, we really do not know what the state intends to do with these programs. Our EZ status is renewed each year. We hope for the sake of the hospital it is kept in place. It has been a tremendous incentive to encourage contributions and help continue to keep pace with needed services and the staff we need to accomplish quality patient care.”
The Berger Commission”™s recommendation that St. Francis and Vassar Brothers consider consolidation of services ”“ something both hospitals were voluntarily doing until stopped by former state Attorney General Dennis Vacco ”“ is still on the table, according to Hughes. “Nothing has been done to move towards that process. It”™s up to the state and the attorney general”™s office to lift the restrictions and let us proceed.”
As of now, both hospitals are moving ahead with upgrades in all departments. There is duplication of services that may benefit from consolidation, but it is up to the state to vacate Vacco”™s order for the efforts to proceed.
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