Steel Topping Off Ceremony Marks Major Milestone for Gouverneur Healthcare Services
Sep 21, 2009
Just 12 months after breaking ground, Gouverneur Healthcare Services, which includes a nursing facility and the largest city-run community health center, marked a milestone today in the construction phase of the $180 million modernization project with a Steel Topping Out ceremony.
Gouverneur Executive Director Mendel Hagler, New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation President Alan D. Aviles, Network SVP Lynda Curtis, elected officials including Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez and City Council Member Rosie Mendez, dignitaries and local community representatives marked the occasion on Monday, September 21, 2009, at Gouverneur’s main campus, 227 Madison Street on Manhattan’s Lower East Side.
The ceremony celebrated the placement of the final steel beam on the roof of the future Ambulatory Care Pavilion. The beam is the last of 1,100 tons of structural steel that the two organizations responsible for the construction, Hunter Roberts and the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY) used in the Pavilion’s steel skeleton.
The Pavilion is expected to open in early Spring 2011.
Paul T. Williams, Jr., Executive Director of the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York, said: “We are proud to partner with Gouverneur Healthcare Services and the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation to build this state-of-the-art facility that will provide world-class medical care to the people of the Lower East Side and Chinatown.”
The project will expand primary care and preventive health services to the Lower East Side and Chinatown community, improve physical and therapeutic environments, and create a larger, modern, 295-bed nursing facility.
“For more than a century Gouverneur Healthcare Services has taken care of the ever-changing, diverse population of New York City’s Lower East Side at its co-located comprehensive community health center and skilled nursing home. This modernization project’s design will be warm and inviting, even as it enhances patient safety, enables greater efficiency and provides state-of-the-art technology. This modern, comfortable setting will enable Gouverneur’s talented and committed staff to provide the best care possible to community residents,” said Health and Hospitals Corporation President, Alan D. Aviles.
Gouverneur currently has 316,000 square feet and the modernization will completely renovate the existing space and add 108,000 square feet of new space. The project is part of a city-wide, five-year $1.2 billion capital investment plan to modernize and rebuild New York City Health and Hospital (HHC) facilities and improve the quality of healthcare services for all New Yorkers.
“We are thrilled that the modernization project is moving ahead according to schedule and eagerly anticipating the opening of the Ambulatory Care Pavilion and Atrium,” said Executive Director Mendel Hagler. “I am pleased that so many people in HHC and in the City share our vision for a premier healthcare facility in Lower Manhattan. When it is complete, our patients and residents will be able to receive the best care possible in a modern, patient-centered setting, and our wonderful staff will have the best resources to provide care in a state-of-the-art facility.”
The project, which is expected to be completed in 2012, will create The Center for Community Health and Wellness that will serve more than 345,000 outpatient visits a year. The new pavilion will house a state-of-the-art 30,000 square foot Women and Children’s Center, a dialysis center, a new CT scan area and space for a full spectrum ambulatory surgery center. In addition, sweeping advances in the facility’s design and equipment will increase patient safety, enable greater efficiency, and provide state-of-the-art technology and comfortable amenities in patient care and public areas. The project will also feature a new nursing facility with 85 additional beds to accommodate the growing aging population, particularly among Chinese Americans and Latinos in New York City. The nursing facility design represents the next generation in long term care. The Residence at Gouverneur Court will resemble a luxury apartment building and include recreational and dining areas, private rooms and suites and a resident-centered design to foster a sense of community.
Steven K. Gifford, director of RMJM’s Global Health and Science Studio said: “The RMJM team is pleased to reach this major milestone ahead of schedule and under budget and are proud of the creative solutions that emerged from our collaboration Gouverneur. The design of the new building creates a fresh image for Gouverneur as a beacon of excellent architecture and healthcare for the city and the community. This project will provide the community with a leading-edge public health facility that will offer outstanding outpatient and residential care for years to come.”
Gouverneur Healthcare Services is an ambulatory care center and a nursing facility that primarily serves the communities of the Lower East Side and Chinatown. Gouverneur and its four community health centers offer a full spectrum of medical, dental, obstetrical, pediatric, rehabilitation and behavioral health services. Gouverneur is part of HHC’s South Manhattan Health Network, which includes Bellevue Hospital Center, Coler-Goldwater Specialty Hospital and Nursing Facility, and Metropolitan Hospital.
The project was designed by the RMJM architects, is constructed by Hunter Roberts and managed by the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY).
Contact: Ian Michaels (HHC) (212) 788-3339.
About Gouverneur
Gouverneur provides primary and specialty outpatient care through its Diagnostic and Treatment Center (D&TC) and residential care for the elderly and infirmed in its Nursing Facility (NF). As such, Gouverneur serves a diverse population that includes vulnerable young and old, who are likely to be indigent, uninsured or receiving public assistance. A majority of those seeking care are members of ethnic minorities such as Asian, Hispanic or African-American.
Gouverneur’s D&TC is the largest freestanding D&TC in New York, providing more than 300,000 visits per year. The D&TC patient population is approximately 75% Asian or Hispanic. Special programs targeted to underserved/minorities include the Asian Bicultural Program for culturally sensitive mental health services and the Roberto Clemente Center for mental health and primary care services for Hispanic individuals.
The D&TC provides a comprehensive array of on-site services, including dentistry, podiatry, optometry, psychiatry, radiology, infections disease, and other specialties and sub-specialties. Therapy services include physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech and audiology, and vocational rehabilitation. On-site services available to nursing home residents include a clinical laboratory, pharmacy, podiatry, respiratory therapy, patient activities, social work, and imaging center with digital ultrasound and mammography.
About HHC
The New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) is a $6.7 billion integrated healthcare delivery system with its own 420,000 member health plan, MetroPlusHealth, and is the largest municipal healthcare organization in the country. HHC serves 1.4 million New Yorkers every year and more than 475,000 are uninsured. HHC provides medical, mental health and substance abuse services through its 11 acute care hospitals, five skilled nursing facilities, six large diagnostic and treatment centers and more than 70 community based clinics. HHC Health and Home Care also provides in-home services for New Yorkers. HHC was the 2008 recipient of the National Quality Forum and The Joint Commission’s John M. Eisenberg Award for Innovation in Patient Safety and Quality. For more information, visit www.nychhc.org/hhc or find us on facebook.com/NYCHealthSystem or twitter.com/NYCHealthSystem.