New Hospital Project Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) 04/25/08
Q - What are the plans for a new hospital?
A - Our plan is to take the best practices of both Arden Hill and Horton campuses and create the most patient-friendly, efficient and advanced hospital possible. At this stage, plans call for 374 beds which would make it the largest hospital between the Tappan Zee Bridge and Albany. The new hospital plans call for seven floors (including the ground floor) totaling over 600,000 square feet.
Q - What has been accomplished regarding plans for the new hospital?
A - Several key steps have been accomplished since the Board of Directors began planning for a new hospital. Orange Regional Medical Center created a Board Steering Committee to oversee the project and guide its development. A Capital Campaign feasibility study was conducted to investigate the probability of raising donations for the hospital. Orange Regional Medical Center acquired a 61-acre site in the Town of Wallkill, New York as the location for the planned hospital. Over 60 informational-gathering "user groups" were assembled with Board, physician and employee representatives to obtain design input for the planned hospital. The project has been supported by the New York State Berger Commission which has recommended restructuring of hospital systems. We have also been awarded HEAL NY grant funding through New York State totaling $48.6 million to assist with planning and construction. HEAL stands for Health Care Efficiency and Affordability Law which is an effort to reconfigure and reform the health care delivery system in New York State by greater efficiency and community benefit. Additionally, the 450-page Certificate of Need application was submitted in August 2006 to the New York State Department of Health and approved in March 2007. In December 2007, Orange Regional Medical Center entered into a sale/leaseback of its hospital campuses through the Community Foundation of Orange and Sullivan Counties thanks to the generous support of the Gerry Foundation, Inc. The arrangement allows Orange Regional to continue operations at the campuses in Goshen and Middletown until moving into a planned new hospital in 2011. In Spring 2008, financing was secured for the new hospital and site clearing and preparation commenced.
Q - When do you plan to begin construction?
A - Construction commenced in March 2008.
Q - When do you expect to open the new hospital?
A - If all goes as planned, the new hospital will open in 2011.
Q - What led to the decision to plan for a new hospital?
A - Arden Hill Hospital and Horton Medical Center merged in 2002 to become Orange Regional Medical Center. Since that time, our mission has been to "Improve the health of the community by providing exceptional health care and creating access to a broad range of quality health care services." Since the merger, we have focused on consolidating existing resources, eliminating redundancies, expanding the depth and breadth of services, improving access to necessary services and ultimately elevating the quality of healthcare services in the region. The hospital has been successful in its efforts thus far, but has been constrained by the age and physical limitations of our existing facilities. The decision to consolidate the two campuses onto a single site in a new replacement hospital represents the logical progression of our efforts to achieve our mission and was spurred by several key factors:
- The growing demand for healthcare due to the rapidly increasing and aging population in this region;
- The increasing need to improve accessibility and availability by attracting specialists and providing services that otherwise would not be available to our residents;
- The inability of our existing facilities to accommodate new technologies, new services and new advances in patient safety;
- The opportunity to gain greater operational efficiencies, through the elimination of duplicative and redundant functions; to reduce the rate of increase in health care spending; and to achieve improved financial stability.
A - Neither of our existing facilities is large enough to accommodate the other without a significant addition. The original facilities at each campus are both in excess of 40 years old. Arden Hill's current facility opened in 1967. Horton is comprised of the original hospital building which opened in 1929 along with other wings added in 1955, 1963 and 1971. These facilities were originally designed and built according to building codes that are now obsolete. These codes were never intended to accommodate the programs, equipment, and overall patient-care philosophy that are now commonplace in a 21st century hospital. Orange Regional continues to incur considerable expense to remain code compliant and to accommodate new services and equipment in its two existing hospitals. Many of these services are provided in renovated space originally intended for other purposes, and, as a result, neither patient flow nor staff efficiency is optimal. Further, both existing campuses are constrained by size and location and could not accommodate the additional parking required.
Q - Where will the new hospital be located?
A - The proposed replacement hospital will be on a beautiful, rolling, 61-acre site located at 707 East Main Street in the Town of Wallkill, New York. The site is located between the two existing campuses, three miles from Horton and five miles from Arden Hill. The site location is adjacent to the intersection of two major roadways (Route 17 traversing north/south and Interstate 84 traversing east/west) in the heart of Orange County and will provide superior access to area residents.
Q - Are you planning other facilities on the 61-acre site?
A - Orange Regional Medical Center is only focusing on the individual hospital at the site.
Q - How many patient rooms will the new hospital have?
A - We plan to have 354 private rooms operational at the time the hospital opens. We have designed the facility to expand to 374 beds by doubling beds in 20 larger rooms in the event of a disaster or epidemic situation.
Q - Isn't 374 beds fewer than what you provide now?
A - Yes. Although we are currently licensed for 450 beds, we do not use or staff all 450 beds. Planning analyses have shown that we can accommodate demand with 374 beds. Therefore, the estimated 374 beds represent a reduction of 76 beds from our current licensed bed count of 450.
Q - If this is a lower amount of beds, will you cut staffing?
A - We expect that through attrition, and employee retirement, total staffing numbers will reduce naturally.
Q - How many parking spaces will there be at the new hospital?
A - We plan on plenty of accessible parking with over 1,600 surface spaces to accommodate visitors, physicians and employees in a safe and secure manner.
Q - What types of inpatient units are you planning for the new hospital?
A - We are planning to continue to offer all of the existing inpatient hospital units. General adult and pediatric medical/surgical beds, Intensive Care, Obstetric, Mental Health and Rehabilitation.
Q - What other efficiencies will the new hospital provide?
A - Our plan is to provide "patient-centered care" which focuses on the needs of the patient rather than on the operational needs of the institution. We have also incorporated "evidenced-based design" which is an approach to healthcare design guided by research linking the physical environment of hospitals to patient and staff outcomes. The various wings and departments of the hospital can be designed in such a way as to maximize staff efficiencies as well as use the latest information technology. We plan to group similar services (e.g. invasive procedure center, diagnostic center) together to allow for efficiencies and patient convenience. We also plan to build spacious operating rooms to have flexibility for future growth and technology.
Q - What about back-office business offices that are needed to support hospital operations?
A - We intend to have the vast majority of clinical and support services located in the main hospital building. Services such as Administration, Human Resources, Medical Records, Finance, IT, etc., will be grouped in an administrative wing which is integrated into the main building, with floor by floor connections.
Q - What will happen to the existing hospitals?
A - We are reviewing our resource capabilities and have had discussions with other hospitals that have undergone similar projects. When the new hospital is built, we plan to close and sell the two existing inpatient campuses.
Q - What is the cost of the new hospital?
A - At this point we estimate the total basic cost of construction, including moveable equipment and fees, will be $255 million. When you add to that financing costs, interest during the construction period, and refinancing of debt on the existing two campuses, the total project cost approaches $350+ million.
Q - How are you going to pay for the hospital?
A - Approximately 77% of the project cost will be funded through the issuance of tax exempt bonds that can be repaid from the hospital's annual operations. The balance will be funded from several equity sources including monies we currently have in the bank, philanthropy and proceeds from the sale of the existing two campuses. We have also been awarded HEAL NY grant funding through New York State totaling $48.6 million to assist with planning and construction. HEAL stands for Health Care Efficiency and Affordability Law which is an effort to reconfigure and reform the health care delivery system in New York State by greater efficiency and community benefit.
Q - Will the new hospital costs affect my taxes?
A - Orange Regional Medical Center is a non-profit hospital and receives no operating subsides from local governments. The cost of constructing a new hospital will not be funded by your taxes.
Q - Will the new hospital affect the affiliations that it currently has?
A - Orange Regional plans to continue clinical affiliations with Montefiore Medical Center, Westchester Medical Center (neonatology and perinatology) and NYU/Hospital for Joint Diseases (orthopedics).
Q - Will Arden Hill or Horton be closed before the new hospital is built?
A - Absolutely not. We need to keep the two hospitals operational right up to the opening of the new hospital because neither campus is large enough to accommodate the other.
Q - Will the Orange Regional Medical Pavilion at 75 Crystal Run Road remain when the new hospital is built?
A - Yes. The Orange Regional Medical Pavilion will continue to serve our community as a premier outpatient facility easily accessible off of Route 17. A new state-of-the-art Breast Center and Open Bore MRI complement the existing comprehensive outpatient services.
Q - How can the community provide input on the new hospital project?
A - If you have questions or comments about Orange Regional Medical Center's plans for a new hospital or wish to see new construction photos, please visit www.ormc.org. There you will be able to view renderings of the hospital, review frequently asked questions, or fill out a comment form. You may also contact Wayne Becker, VP New Projects at (845) 294-4810 or at wbecker@ormc.org.
