UR Medicine Building New Site for Outpatient Imaging, Autism Care

UR Medicine leaders will today break ground on a new building that will house a state-of-the-art outpatient Imaging Center, as well as the region’s first stand-alone clinic to integrate care of autism with pediatric neuromedicine and child and adolescent psychiatry services. 

The 90,000-square-foot, three-story building creates space to relocate outpatient imaging, interventional radiology clinics and autism/neuromedicine/behavioral health pediatric programs from the University of Rochester Medical Center campus to an easily accessible location along East River Road and the I-390 corridor.

The first two floors will hold the new Imaging Center, which will combine spacious, private patient spaces with advanced technology for diagnostics and treatment. The third floor will house the new William and Mildred Levine Autism Clinic, supported by a $1 million gift from the William and Mildred Levine Foundation. The autism clinic will co-locate specialists in autism, child and adolescent psychiatry and neuromedicine services to offer multidisciplinary care to for children and teens.

The Levine Autism Clinic has been designed to meet the environmental and sensory needs of children with autism spectrum disorders.

“This expansion will transform the way we deliver care and provide leading-edge technology and therapies to people who travel near and far for UR Medicine expertise,” said Joel Seligman, president and CEO of the University of Rochester.  

The new site provides space to create the region’s first outpatient interventional radiology clinic. It also enables UR Medicine’s Strong Memorial Hospital to retool its imaging operations for patients on inpatient units. 

“We are a regional destination for complex pediatric care and imaging sciences, and as we create a health care network throughout upstate New York, more patients will come to rely on us for services and technologies that are available only through the Medical Center. This facility is the latest example of our commitment to making services more accessible,” said UR Medicine CEO Mark Taubman, M.D.

The $28 million building will be completed in early 2017.

Improving Children’s Care

Clinicians in the Levine Autism Clinic will offer care in a child-friendly environment that meets the unique physical, sensory and environmental needs of children who need those services. For example, many patients with autism spectrum disorders become anxious and uncomfortable in loud, busy places and caregivers have helped designers plan a quiet, soothing place for appointments.

The attention to every detail mirrors the creation of child-friendly inpatient units and recreation areas in the new Golisano Children’s Hospital, which opened in mid-July.

“Children and families thrive when they receive care where they feel safe, calm and comfortable,” said Pediatrician-in-Chief Nina Schor, M.D. Ph.D., of the Golisano Children’s Hospital. “We are proud to be a leader in patient-centric care and provide this model to all of our patients and families.”

Todd Levine, president of his family’s foundation and Alleson Athletic, is proud to support the autism clinic.  He and his wife, Julie, recognize the importance of easy access to high-quality autism care at Golisano Children’s Hospital.

“Helping create a stand-alone clinic where children with developmental disabilities can receive comprehensive care will allow us to reach for new heights, ensuring everyone receives the best services and care possible,” he said.

In the past year, more than 500 children were diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, leading to more than 3,500 visits. The new clinic will accommodate the growing need for diagnosis and treatment.

The Levine Autism Clinic will be co-located with neurology, behavioral and mental health programs, which is convenient for families that see specialists in each of those programs. The physical proximity of the programs will foster greater collaboration among the multidisciplinary caregivers and benefit patients and families. 

Expanding Imaging Space

The number of diagnostic imaging tests performed at the Medical Center has grown dramatically and now exceeds 500,000 each year.  About half of them, or a quarter-million tests, are for outpatient care.

To accommodate growing patient volumes, UR Medicine has opened satellite imaging centers to support the Orthopaedics team at Clinton Crossings and Strong West, as well as eight other locations in Monroe County.

Construction of the new building on East River Road will shift about 50 percent of imaging tests from the Medical Center campus and provide improved access and convenience to patients seeking outpatient imaging services, said David Waldman, M.D., Ph.D., chair of Imaging Sciences.

“When this building opens we will be able to provide specialty care in a patient-centric environment, which is our top priority,” he said.

Patients will have easy access from an onsite parking lot and enjoy comfortable, private care, following the model established with the renovation of intensive care units at Strong Memorial and the opening of the new Golisano Children’s Hospital.   

The additional space will let radiologists lead a dedicated interventional radiology clinic to expand the use of minimally invasive, image-guided procedures to diagnose and treat diseases.