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Highland Hospital Plans Nearly All Private Rooms for Patients

Hospital seeking city rezoning to add four levels to its southeast wing

Thursday, July 26, 2018

Highland Hospital Plans Nearly All Private Rooms for Patients

Nearly all Highland Hospital patients will benefit from private rooms, through a modernization plan announced by the hospital. Providing patients with private rooms will further Highland Hospital’s ongoing efforts to improve patient care, help reduce the risk of infections, and offer more adequate, therapeutic space during recovery.

Part of the hospital’s master facility plan, the modernization project would add four levels to the hospital’s southeast wing, elevating the wing from its current three to seven floors total, the same floor count as the hospital’s East and West towers. Design of the structure has not yet begun.

Under its current license, Highland has 261 patient care beds: 218 beds are on medical/surgical units with 124 beds in semi-private rooms (57%) and 94 beds in private rooms (43%). The remaining 43 beds are on maternity and intensive care units and are all private rooms. The four new levels would add 60 private patient-care rooms, resulting in 214 medical/surgical beds in private rooms. The project will allow Highland to shift patients currently in semi-private rooms to private patient care rooms.

The hospital is applying to the city of Rochester to rezone the facility as a planned development district (PDD) to allow the project to move forward.

“It is imperative that we continue to modernize our facility to provide the highest-quality patient- and family-centered care, now and into the future,” said Cindy Becker, vice president and COO of Highland Hospital. “Central to this modernization project is the transition to private rooms, which will offer numerous benefits to patients – from the reduced risk of hospital-acquired infections, to the positive therapeutic impact of more privacy and less noise during recovery.”

As it does with all development projects, the hospital will work collaboratively with residents of its surrounding neighborhoods throughout the project. Hospital officials discussed the modernization plan on Wednesday, July 25 with the Highland Park Neighborhood Association (HPNA). Additional meetings will be held with other neighborhood and business groups to gather input and to help address any potential concerns. The hospital also will continually update neighbors and area businesses on the project through meetings with the Highland Park Neighborhood Interaction Committee, its facilities blog, hospital website, and through regular columns in neighborhood newspapers.

“Highland Hospital is unique for being a community hospital as well as a neighborhood hospital,” Becker added. “We are mindful of the potential neighborhood impact of any change we make, and we decided on the scope of this project after years of input from and dialog with neighbors. We will continue to work with area neighbors and businesses to listen to their feedback and to help mitigate any potential concerns.”

Becker noted that in addition to serving as an important health-care resource, Highland Hospital is a source for local jobs, and that the hospital’s success has contributed to the Highland Park and South Wedge neighborhoods’ revitalization and growth, as evidenced by the steady increase in property values over the last 10 years.

Following rezoning and certificate of need approvals, the hospital expects to begin construction in spring 2020 and to complete the project in spring 2022. 

Media Contact

Maureen Malone

(585) 341-6210

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