Susan Fox, president and CEO of White Plains Hospital, has revealed that while a year ago 80% of the patients in the hospital were being treated for Covid-19, today there are only three patients suffering from the virus.
Fox was speaking to hospital staff, supporters, elected officials and community leaders who had assembled for Wednesday’s ribbon-cutting at the hospital”™s Center for Advanced Medicine and Surgery at 122 Maple Ave. in White Plains. She paid tribute to all those who have worked so hard through the pandemic not only to keep the community safe but also to make the new center a reality.
“To say this has been an incredible year is an understatement. We have all been through so much and I am so proud of our staff for everything that they have done to keep our community safe.
“While we will never forget the events of the last year, the situation is definitely looking brighter,” Fox said, while praising everyone who worked through the pandemic to make the new facility a reality.
“From a hole in the ground two years ago until now, millions of work hours have been put in by hundreds of contractors and construction workers and the end result is a work of true craftsmanship,”
Fox attributed much of the progress in fighting the virus to the rapid rollout of vaccines.
“Today, more than 135 million Americans have been vaccinated and over 70% of Westchester residents over the age of 18 have received at least one dose of a vaccine,” Fox said.
She then advised audience members, “If you have not gotten vaccinated I urge you to do so and there are any number of people that will bring you right over and give you a shot in the arm.”
Larry Smith, chairman of the hospital’s board of directors, said, “Just two years ago I stood not far from this very spot with a shovel on my hand surrounded by many of you as we officially broke ground on this facility.
“We were excited about the project back then, about our growth and about our future and we were totally unaware of what was about to happen less than a year later. It is not an exaggeration to say that we were thrown a curve ball as Covid-19 impacted us all. Despite all the obstacles we made it through and we are incredibly proud that this building was completed on time.”
White Plains Hospital is a member of the Montefiore Health System and Dr. Philip Ozuah, president and CEO of Montefiore Medicine, praised the hospital”™s staff for its performance during the Covid crisis.
“Overwhelmed and under siege, these remarkable people in this hospital set aside their own personal safety and displayed extraordinary courage and compassion to save thousands of lives,” Ozuah said.
The 252,000-square-foot, 9-story outpatient center provides the hospital with more operating rooms, facilities for performing endoscopies and other studies, wound care using hyperbaric oxygen chambers, advanced imaging equipment, including Westchester”™s only PET-MRI scanner, which provides more detailed images of body tissues and organs than other types of scanners.
In addition, office facilities are provided for physicians and support staff in numerous specialties including orthopedics, urology, pain management and heart and vascular care.
Other speakers at the ribbon-cutting event included U.S. Rep. Mondaire Jones, White Plains Mayor Tom Roach and the hospital”™s Director of Surgery Kaare Weber. Former Congresswoman Nita Lowey was introduced by Fox and thanked for her support of the hospital during her time in Congress from 1989 until this year.
The center is scheduled to open for its first patients on June 7.
