State Approves 83 More Beds for SMH
Late last week, the New York State Department of Health (DOH) gave Strong Memorial Hospital the go ahead to immediately add 83 beds to its license, capping off a year-long process by the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) to address serious overcrowding at the hospital.
PRISM’s original single tower concept has been reconfigured into two parallel patient wings, decreasing the facility’s height as it reaches out to Elmwood Avenue, and adding open space and light to the building and the surrounding area.
In October 2007, Strong Memorial Hospital submitted an application asking for 123 beds. The plan included details on its ambitious Pediatric Replacement and Imaging Sciences Modernization (PRISM) project, a new facility that would house adult and pediatric private rooms, as well as a new imaging sciences complex. With the recent DOH decision, Strong was immediately granted 83 additional beds to its license, with the ability to add up to another 40 beds if demand continues to outpace capacity.
“I am gratified that the DOH recognized the dire need to stem overcrowding at our hospital, and in our community overall,” said Bradford C. Berk, M.D., Ph.D., CEO of the Medical Center. “By next spring, we will have exhausted all options for expanding within Strong Memorial, making PRISM a vital and necessary step in our ability to care for our patients in the future. It’s also an essential path to improving patient quality and safety, the key focus of our strategic plan.”
The cost of PRISM is estimated at $260 million, and will be financed by a combination of cash reserves, philanthropy and external debt (in the form of a bond issuance). In light of the recent market conditions, construction start dates will need to remain flexible.
“We are firmly committed to building PRISM, and we have developed a financing plan that allows us to move forward,” Berk said. “But until market conditions stabilize, we need to be fiscally conservative, and keep our options open on when to begin construction.”
Read more on PRISM, including a brief overview of the facility.
