Final Steel Beam Placed For New WMC Hospital

KINGSTON – Construction workers placed the final steel beam atop the $92.9 million, 127,000-square-foot expansion and enhancement of WMCHealth’s HealthAlliance Hospital: Mary’s Avenue Campus in a topping-off ceremony attended by community stakeholders and leadership from WMCHealth and HealthAlliance of the Hudson Valley (HealthAlliance). The beam was adorned with the signatures of HealthAlliance workforce members, volunteers, donors and many other community members.

“Today we celebrate another major step toward completion of a new hospital building, along with an extensive renovation of the existing structure, that will transform HealthAlliance Hospital into a 21st century, single-campus model of advanced healthcare delivery,” said Michael D. Israel, President and CEO of WMCHealth. “The strength and permanence of this structure represents WMCHealth’s strong and unbending commitment to the health of Kingston, the surrounding communities and the residents of this region.”

Joshua Ratner, Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer WMCHealth offers remarks.
Joshua Ratner, Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer WMCHealth offers remarks.

“We are excited that soon we will have an advanced, single-campus facility to serve our community,” said Michael E. Doyle, MD, Executive Director and Chief Medical Officer of HealthAlliance of the Hudson Valley. “The strong support we have received from donors and the community and the hard work of many people, including the construction team, have made this milestone moment possible.”

Added Craig Sickler, Chairman of the HealthAlliance board of directors: “Just look around and you can see the vision of this facility coming to life. It’s amazing how the project has already transformed the landscape of our hospital campus.”

Construction of the new HealthAlliance Hospital remains on schedule with completion anticipated in the spring of 2022.

A Reimagined HealthAlliance Hospital
The development project for HealthAlliance Hospital: Mary’s Avenue Campus includes:

• A new, two-story, 79,000-square-footbuilding adjoining the current facility, as well as a full renovation of 48,000 square feet of space within the existing hospital.

• A newly-constructed 25,000-square-foot emergency care center The center’s expanded capacity will offer an unprecedented level of readiness to care for a full range of emergency visits.

• A newly-constructed intensive care unit for efficient, coordinated care of the hospital’s sickest patients.

• A new cardiovascular lab capable of interventional procedures.

• A newly-constructed family maternity center with ultramodern labor, delivery, recovery and postpartum rooms.

• A new imaging department with today’s latest and most advance technologies, sourced via WMCHealth’s landmark agreement with Philips.

• New laboratory and pharmacy designed to maximize safety and efficiency.

• A new, welcoming hospital lobby with central registration and admitting, financial counseling, family support services, a gift shop and comfortable waiting areas.

HealthAlliance workforce members signed final steel beam.
HealthAlliance workforce members signed final steel beam.

Investing in the Health of Ulster County
HealthAlliance currently has two hospital campuses in Kingston, on Mary’s Avenue and Broadway. Redeveloping the Mary’s Avenue campus is the first component of a major, two-phase healthcare-advancement project. The effort includes consolidating all hospital services to the Mary’s Avenue Campus and converting the Broadway Campus into a walkable health village.

In the future Broadway Campus health village, HealthAlliance will collaborate with community partners to deliver preventative and primary healthcare services, as well as healthy lifestyle counseling, in one convenient location.

The combined construction on the two HealthAlliance campuses is expected to cost $134.9 million, with $88.8 million coming from the New York State Capital Restructuring Financing Program. The balance will come from WMCHealth, HealthAlliance and a capital fundraising campaign.

“New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo, New York State Assembly member Kevin Cahill, New York State Sen. Michelle Hinchey, Ulster County Executive Patrick Ryan, Ulster County Board of Legislators and City of Kingston Mayor Steve Noble, have been instrumental in supporting this vital project and we thank them for their collaboration,” Doyle said.