The Queens Hospital Center is preparing for a long awaited, praised,
planned and big move this spring . . .right across the street.
After 10 years of dreaming and hard work by Borough President Claire
Shulman, more than two years of construction, and $147 million, Queens Hospital Center
will move into a new, five-floor building across the street. Set to open in June, the
state-of-the-art health care institution will enhance health care, particularly for the
950,000 residents of central and southeast Queens.
"It will be a first class hospital
and we are delighted," Shulman told the PRESS.
"We will end up with less beds but with a state-of the art
institution," Shulman added, explaining that even though the replacement hospital may
lose around 17 beds its presence will benefit Southeast Queens economically as well as
offer the latest in medical treatment. The master plan for the rebirth of Queens Hospital
includes using the extra acreage to create economic growth.
"There are 20 acres of property. We will use those 20 acres to make
up for any red ink." Shulman said.
According to the Borough President, the extra space may be used for the
construction of a new high school, a possible site for housing for Queens’ health
care professionals, an assisted living facility or a health and fitness center.
Shulman seemed to speak with a sigh of relief as she gave her 2001 State
of the Borough address and said, "Here’s something I’ve been waiting to say
for the last 10 years . . . the long-awaited, much anticipated new Queens Hospital Center
. . . is now a reality and will open this year. This state-of-the-art facility will
include ‘Centers of Excellence’ for women’s health, cancer care, and
diabetes care. The 200-bed hospital is a public facility open to everyone."
Latta Vasconcellos, associate director for external affairs, said more
simply, "This is a gift to the community."
The new glassy structure sits on the north side of the old hospital on
164th Street and 82nd Avenue and although it looks completed from the outside, the
interior has yet to be finished.
Its 360,000 square feet will house 200 in-patient beds, for primary and
specialty ambulatory care and take up just a quarter of the 22-acre campus of Queens
Hospital.
Vasconcellos explained, "Perception is a reality, so we have to
create a reality." Queens Hospital is re-inventing itself, she added, like its sister
hospital Elmhurst Hospital, which was upgraded with a $250 million modernization program
in 1997. "Health care is a competitive industry, and for us to survive we need to
step up our service to communities."
Plans for the long-awaited building received support in 1997 from the City
Council, the mayor and Queens borough president, which led to the ground breaking in
October 1998. The $149 million project is managed and funded by the Dormitory Authority, a
state benefit corporation which designs and constructs new facilities for nonprofit
hospitals. So far the project is on time and on budget.
Robert Rossdale, the hospital’s associate executive director, said,
"I’ve worked here for over 20 years and we’ve had a lot of false starts.
For the longest time, people stopped coming because they thought it would close, but now
they can see the changes and the new building."
It made more sense to the staff to build a new hospital. Juxtaposed next
to tomorrow’s hospital is today’s art deco Queens Hospital Center . . . a
light-brown brick monolith built during the depression. Medical services are spread out
throughout the building and the building wings are narrow, limiting the maternity ward to
20 units.
Rossdale said, "It’s inefficient to manage all the services and
patients when you have to move around."
Renovations have modified what currently exists in the old hospital
structure – called the A Building – to make the best use possible out of the
space available.
Innovations in care, outreach and room design now at work in the A
Building have been incorporated into what will soon be open in the new Queens Hospital
Center.
Vasconcellos added that once all of the programs have been phased out of
the A Building and are completely at home in their new facility, the A Building will be
demolished. What happens to its land and the remaining acres surrounding the hospital is
up to the Economic Development Corporation, she added.
"We want to become the choice hospital," said
Vasconcellos. "For where mothers want to bring their babies or for people to bring in
their parents when they become ill."
Queens Hospital has a grass roots campaign of education that includes
health seminars, breakfasts with community residents, and sending representatives to
churches and mosques.
Many of the A Building wards have been renovated to appear more friendly
and less sterile. The maternity ward has a day area for new mothers to socialize. It
resembles a living room with flowered wallpaper.
And the hospital staff have worked hard to render the pediatric ward more
playful. Its walls are painted with bright colors of red, blue and green and are invaded
by the likes of Elmo and Tigger.
"You rebound quickly if you are in a good mental place," said
Vasconcellos, who emphasized the hospital’s philosophy of treating the patient as a
whole and stimulating the patient’s mental needs.
The interior of the new building will reflect the tones of the
renovations. Medical service in the new building will be updated and more consolidated.
New technology includes digital X-rays which will speed up the process for
doctors on different floors who can simply tap into a computer.
Centers
Of Health Excellence |
The women’s center will take up the whole second floor
for everything from delivery to mammography. Deliveries are on the rise, and the new
building will accommodate expectant mothers with single rooms.
In addition to the latest technology, the cancer care facility has been
designed to keep families in mind, including a library for use while loved ones receive
chemotherapy.
And the diabetes center has put together a comprehensive program for
treatment as well as preventative health care in Queens.
"It’s a real need in this community, especially in ethnic
communities where diabetes is rooted," said Vasconcellos who pointed out that
diabetes is common in African Americans, Caribbean, and Indian.
"This is a garden spot for Queens, because of the compassionate
staff," said Vasconcellos.
1903 - NYC purchases 22½ acres of
farmland in northern Jamaica.
1906 - A horse-drawn ambulance based at QHC is used to transport area
residents suffering from communicable diseases to a Brooklyn hospital.
1909 - $230,000 is secured by the City to build a small hospital on this
site.
1912 - An appropriation is voted upon for an 80-bed hospital for the
treatment of tuberculosis.
1928 - The Medical Society of the County of Queens petitions the City to
build a municipal hospital where Queensboro Hospital stood; an allocation of $3.4 million
is set aside, with a planned bed capacity of 400.
1929 - On April 16 the present site of Queens Hospital Center is
selected.
1935 - Queens General Hospital is dedicated on Oct. 30. Outpatient
Department opens Nov. 6; Inpatient Services on Nov. 18.
1936 - Queensboro Hospital becomes the Queensboro Pavilion of Queens
General Hospital.
1938 - The first mental hygiene clinic in Queens was opened and the
Blood Bank of Queens General Hospital was inaugurated.
1941 - Triboro Hospital opens its doors on Jan. 1. On Sept. 1, the
Queens General Hospital Affiliating School for Student Nurses starts with an initial
enrollment of 26 students.
1952 - Queens General Hospital, Triboro Hospital, Neponsit Beach
Hospital and the College Point Outpatient Department combine to become Queens Hospital
Center on June 6.
1956 - The School of Nursing opens.
1959 - Medical boards of Queens General Hospital and Triboro Hospital
merge as the Medical Board for Queens Hospital Center.
1964 - Major renovation and expansion occur after NYC enters into an
agreement with three voluntary teaching hospitals: Long Island Jewish Medical Center, Mary
Immaculate Hospital and Hillside Hospital.
1970 - Alcoholism Services, the first in Queens, is created, featuring a
20-bed inpatient unit and comprehensive outpatient program.
1972 - The Queens Hospital Center Advisory Board is established and the
inpatient drug detoxification unit of 21 beds is opened.
1976 - The Hospital’s new Emergency Room opens.
1989 - Surgical Services move into their new home in the A Building.
1995 - New Medicine and Pediatric Clinics open in the N Building.
1997 - Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Borough President Claire Shulman announce
a $147 million major reconstruction project for Queens Hospital Center at a City Hall
press conference on Aug. 19. The Dormitory Authority of the State of New York is chosen to
manage the project and the architectural firm of Perkins & Will/David Brody Bond is
selected to design the new facility.
1998 - Systematic demolition of longstanding buildings begins in
earnest, making way for construction of the new facility. New Maternity and Pediatric
Units are established on the fifth floor of the A Building to ensure that the Hospital
remains competitive throughout the transition. The Hospital’s entrance, formerly
located on 164th Street, is rerouted to the T Building on Parsons Boulevard for the
duration of construction.
2001 - The new Queens Hospital Center schedules to open in the spring.
– Prepared by Jane Petrik,
QHC Office of Communications
