11 community news Hospital of Tomorrow BY ANGY ALTAMIRANO Mount Sinai Queens is becoming the “hospital of tomorrow” as it breaks ground on its $125 million expansion project. Hospital offi cials, community members and elected offi cials gathered on October 21 to break ground on the project that will help improve health care for the Astoria community. “Today’s groundbreaking signifi es more than just a new building for our hospital,” said Caryn A. Schwab, executive director at Mount Sinai Queens. “I’m grateful to Mount Sinai leadership, our elected offi cials and the community partners with whom we worked most closely to make this project a reality.” The expansion, which began in August, will include a larger state-of-the-art emergency department to be named the Starvos Niarchos Foundation. It will feature 35 patient bays, eight observation beds, an off street “drive-through” ambulance bay, a separate walk-in entrance and a new imaging suite. The project will also bring seven new operating rooms and an expansion of the hospital’s outpatient medical services featuring a multispecialty medical practice, new primary care physicians, new specialists in cardiology, orthopedics and other departments, and integrated laboratory services. “We’re going to be building the hospital of tomorrow,” said Dr. Kenneth L. Davis, president and CEO of Mount Sinai Health System. “In just MT. SINAI BREAKS GROUND ON EXPANSION a few more years, this part of Queens will be home to a state-of-the-art health care institution that will further enhance the quality of care and improve patient outcomes.” New windows are being installed in the existing building and central air conditioning will be provided to all patient rooms. Once it is completed, it is estimated that the expansion will create close to 460 constructionrelated jobs, 340 additional jobs and 160 staff jobs. It will also add approximately $166 million to the local economy, offi cials said. “As other hospitals are closing and being cutback, this one is growing and being added to,” said Councilmember Peter Vallone Jr., who has provided funding for the hospital through the City Council throughout the years. “Medicine keeps progressing and we have to stay up with that and that’s what this is about, staying up with the new needs of this growing community.” The expansion project is expected to be completed by 2016. RENDERING COURTESY MOUNT SINAI QUEENS THE COURIER/Photo by Angy Altamirano Mount Sinai Queens broke ground on the $125 million expansion project expected to be completed by 2016.
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