Frequently Asked Questions: How the Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth) and Bon Secours Charity Health System Will Transform Healthcare in Port Jervis
Q. What did WMCHealth and Bon Secours Charity Health System announce?
A. The Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth), along with the Bon Secours Charity Health System, today announced a $40+ million investment in Bon Secours Community Hospital and the Port Jervis area that is expected to transform healthcare delivery in the region. The plan includes major renovation of the hospital and, in partnership with community organizations, the availability of programs and services to help foster a healthier community.
Q. What are some of the highlights of the project?
A. Bon Secours Community Hospital will see significant enhancements under the plan. Hospital improvements include a new main entrance, lobby and registration area; an expanded (by almost 3,000 square feet) and upgraded emergency department with a covered entrance and additional treatment areas; the conversion of 36 medical/surgical rooms from semi-private to private; a renovated bariatric center; a new imaging suite with the latest imaging technology provided by WMCHealth strategic partner and world-leading technology partner, Philips; a new and convenient retail pharmacy; and a wellness center that will offer a variety of healthy living programs and services.
The number of beds in the hospital units will be equal to or greater than the current average daily patient census, meaning we will be able to treat more patients in an environment better than currently offered.
Additionally, the hospital will become the centerpiece of a “medical village” where primary care, dental care, educational workshops and other services key in maintaining a healthy lifestyle will be offered, all in a convenient location.
Q. What is a “medical village?”
A. A medical village is a convenient, integrated primary care and outpatient destination for medical services in a “one stop” location, providing easy and open access to medical care and services. In this case, it will be a neighborhood focal point where Bon Secours Community Hospital, WMCHealth and community partners will offer primary care, behavioral health and other support services, including retail, education and transportation.
Q. What community partners will be involved?
A. WMCHealth and Bon Secours Charity Health System will look to partner with many local organizations to provide care and services. Partners include the Orange County Department of Mental Health Services, which provides outpatient crisis stabilization support, and Cornerstone Care, which offers dental services, pediatric care and expanded women’s health offerings.
Q. How will Port Jervis and the surrounding communities benefit from this project?
A. Providing inpatient, outpatient and community care and services, this comprehensive project is an innovative way of “creating health” in the region. Investing in a healthy community means reduction in preventable hospitalizations, which translates into lower health care costs. It will help advance care for our community and make it stronger.
The project is also expected to help the local economy with construction jobs as well as new positions with the additional offered services.
Q. How can WMCHealth and Bon Secours Charity Health System make all of these improvements to Bon Secours Community Hospital?
A. Earlier this year, New York State announced nearly $1.2 billion in healthcare awards for hospitals and health systems in New York through its Capital Restructuring Financing Program. As part of these awards, WMCHealth and Bon Secours Charity Health System received a $24.5 million capital grant for these improvements. The grant awards are transformational for WMCHealth, Bon Secours Community Hospital and the Port Jervis area.
Q. When will construction begin? When will the projects be completed?
A. With the necessary approvals from the city and state, Phase One of the project will begin in 2017. Completion for the entire project is expected in 2019.
Q. What is WMCHealth?
A. WMCHealth, the Westchester Medical Center Health Network, is the preeminent provider of integrated healthcare in the Hudson Valley. It is a unique network of care, solely focused on advancing the health and well-being of the Hudson Valley, and ensuring that the highest level of healthcare is available to its residents as close to their homes as possible.
WMCHealth was born and raised, so to speak, in the Hudson Valley. We bring together a comprehensive network of more than 250 partners, thousands of physicians and a workforce of nearly 12,000 to provide the finest care at all levels for the children and adults of the region.
In just over a decade, WMCHealth has grown from a single campus and the advanced-care lifeline for the residents of our region to a $2 billion network with partners at every level of the healthcare continuum. And, as the healthcare and wellness needs of the Hudson Valley continue to grow, WMCHealth will grow with them.
We are expanding care where we live with a new network spanning 6,200 square miles, totaling 10 hospitals on eight campuses with nearly 1,700 hospital beds, including trauma centers, community hospitals and the region’s only children’s hospital, dozens of specialized institutes and centers, skilled nursing, assisted living and homecare and one of the largest mental health systems in New York – with our flagship Westchester Medical Center providing the most advanced re when the residents of the region need it most.
Over the past few years, as we have welcomed others to tour network, we have been heartened by the enthusiasm we have received from the communities we serve.
We take the healthcare and economic fabric of the region very seriously, and our commitment to ensure that we all have the finest care available here in the Hudson Valley has never been stronger.
Q. What is Bon Secours Community Hospital?
A. For nearly a century, Bon Secours Community Hospital, a member of the Westchester Medical Center Health Network, in Port Jervis, New York, has served the residents of Western Orange County, New York, Pike County, Pennsylvania, and Northern Sussex County, New Jersey, as the area’s premier healthcare provider. The hospital serves its community with over 100 beds for acute care and medical-surgical services, a 24-hour emergency department, long-term care and rehabilitation, a dedicated bariatric surgery unit, behavioral health and outpatient services.
For more information, please review the announcing press release.
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