Elizabeth Seton Pediatric Center, also known as Elizabeth Seton Children”™s Center, wants to build a $118 million facility in White Plains to help it care for medically fragile young adults between the ages of 18 and 35. The proposed facility would have 96 beds. It has applied to the city of White Plains for a zoning change for a section of an approximately 23-acre property on North Street.
At one time, the property was home to St. Agnes Hospital. The Bristal at White Plains, an assisted living and memory care facility is among the facilities now located there. Elizabeth Seton Children”™s Foundation Ltd. owns approximately 5.29-acres that are home to the Elizabeth Seton Children”™s School and its Children”™s Rehabilitation Center. It plans to acquire another 4 acres at the location that currently are approved for construction of independent senior living apartments.
Elizabeth Seton Young Adult Center rendering.
For more than 30 years, Elizabeth Seton Children”™s Center has cared for children who have medically complex and challenging conditions. It operates a facility in Yonkers as well as having a presence White Plains. The center has been so successful in its mission that it has not only enhanced the quality of life for clients but in many cases extended their lifespans. Elizabeth Seton”™s children”™s school offers special education for children ages 18 months to eight years with complex medical conditions. The Elizabeth Seton Children”™s Rehabilitation Center offers children physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech language pathology and other needed services.
Elizabeth Seton is asking White Plains to establish a new zone to be known as a Planned Healthcare Campus Development District. At the moment the zoning is Planned Senior Residential Development District. Elizabeth Seton says that the new zoning district would advance the objectives of the existing district. It points out that White Plains already is a hub of high-quality medical services in the country and that the proposed facility would be adjacent to existing Elizabeth Seton facilities. Elizabeth Seton says that the proposed facility would generate 300 full-time jobs, including more than 150 in nursing.
“Elizabeth Seton cares for 169 children and now young adults with some of the most severe medically complex conditions and diagnoses, many from birth, and many can be genetic disorders,” Patricia Tursi, Elizabeth Seton Chldren”™s CEO told the Business Journals. “Most of our kids are in wheelchairs, strollers if very young, and graduate and continue to have their independence through their mobility devices.”
Tursi said that a majority of the children must use feeding tubes and about 80 depend on ventilators. She said that she has been with the organization for more than 20 years and when she first came very few of the children “aged out,” meaning they reached 21 and could no longer stay in a specialty pediatric facility.
“Over time what we started to see is that our children were living longer,” Tursi said. “For the first time we started to discharge our children as young adults. About 30% of them passed away in just a little over a year after discharge. Our staff and me, everyone, was very, very concerned and upset.”
Tursi said that the new facility will be specially designed to meet the needs of young adults and takes into consideration not only information gathered through Elizabeth Seton”™s experience over the years but also input from clients such as 25-year-old Stephanie Gabaud, who has become what Tursi describes as an international spokesperson for the center and contributed to the design process for the proposed building.
“I”™m looking forward to change,” Gabaud told the Business Journals. “I”™m on the project committee. I made sure that the architects paid attention to closet space. We have kids during the winter that have jackets, coats and boots. Their clothes can”™t really fit into the drawers because there is no space.”
Galbaud said that it”™s important for people to realize that some of the patients are no longer children.
“They”™re young adults now,” Gabaud said. “We really need to focus on being aware of their needs.” She said that the design of the interiors at the new facility “really speaks to young adults.”
Stephanie Gabaud, left, and Patricia Tursi.
Tursi said that the new building would include 111,000 square feet and would include a courtyard and rooftop gardens. She said that federal funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) would provide a lot of the financing for the project.
“We have a $30 million capital campaign,” Tursi said. “$18 million is for our equity requirement for HUD and the Department of Health and the remaining $12 million is for us to have the working capital we”™re going to need to support both the Children”™s Center as we transfer our young adults to the new center. We have to be careful about the ramp-up and the fill-up time. We”™re estimating it will take us about nine months. We would do it in a gradual phased-in approach and in order to do that we need to support both the Children”™s Center and the Young Adult Center financially. It”™s going to be a very complicated transition. We want the Children”™s Center in Yonkers to be all-children.”
Tursi said the organization is actively pursuing a fundraising campaign and has details on its website.
“I believe this is going to be a meaningful project for the community because it is the first of its kind and will have national attention as a pilot that is really setting the standard of excellence and care and coming up with the protocols of how to meet the young adults”™ needs,” Tursi said.
