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in duplicate beds, services and medical equipment which, in turn, limits associated health care costs,” according to its website. As long as the DOH stamps its approval, medical institutions may continue to embed themselves within the same towns and cities.
Providing primary care in a community whose patients they covet is a key way hos- pitals expect to increase their volume. These new standalone facilities are built for appeal; they don’t carry the doc-in-a-box stigma once associated with retail medical care. A clinic, urgent-care, or wellness center is often the first line to establishing a connection to a hos- pital brand, particularly among a younger generation of patients who eschew the “sin- gle-source, primary-care-physician model fa- vored by older generations,” according to a survey commissioned by PNC Healthcare last year. The survey found that Millennials pre- fer retail and acute-care clinics nearly twice as often as baby boomers and seniors.
Beyond the exceptional care these outpatient facilities pledge to everyone, they tend to distinguish themselves through the details. In some cases it’s the availability of late-night or weekend appointments; in others, it’s a variety of specialists or the convenience of getting x-rays, physical therapy, or minor surgery close to home. Northwell’s New Rochelle facility advertises “highly competitive same-day pricing” for patients who may be comparing costs among clinics. Others offer wellness options, such as support groups and nutrition counseling, to draw new patients.
The overarching intent is to keep people healthy, which administrators believe will re- sult in fewer hospital stays, bolstering the bot- tom line. “One of the goals of healthcare reform is prioritizing hospital care for the sickest pa- tients,” explains White Plains Hospital CEO Susan Fox, who notes that her hospital has responded by creating new facilities and addi- tional advanced programs to be able to provide “the right level of care in the right setting.”
“That’s our strategy here,” she adds.
Focusing on the Most Prevalent Diseases
Another strategy for local hospitals is to fo- cus on diseases like cancer, whose prevalence, unfortunately, presents myriad business op- portunities. White Plains Hospital recently renovated its Dickstein Cancer Treatment Pavilion and added a new six-story pavilion, which opened in February, doubling its orig- inal space for cancer care. Nine miles away, NewYork-Presbyterian/Lawrence Hospital officials have been busy constructing their three-story cancer center scheduled to open
NUMBER OF INPATIENT BEDS
AT AREA ACUTE-CARE HOSPITALS
St. John’s Riverside Hospital Dobbs Ferry Pavilion
NewYork-Presbyterian/ Hudson Valley Hospital
Montefiore Mount Vernon Hospital
Saint Joseph’s Medical Center
Greenwich Hospital
Northern Westchester Hospital
Phelps Memorial Hospital Center
Montefiore New Rochelle Hospital
St. John’s Riverside Hospital
NewYork-Presbyterian/ Lawrence Hospital
White Plains Hospital
Westchester Medical Center
12
w
128
176
194
206
233
238
242
253
288
292
652
0
100 200
300
Number of Beds
400 500 600
later this year. And in April, administrators at Phelps Memorial Hospital began the process of bolstering their cancer program by filing a certificate of need with the state Department of Health for a $7.1 million 27,000 square foot oncology facility. These are business decisions based on the realities of the disease.
“There are 5,500 new cases of cancer diagnosed each year in Westchester,” says Maureen Killackey, MD, clinical director of the NewYork–Presbyterian/Lawrence Hospital Cancer Center. “One out of two men, and one out of three women, will get cancer [nationwide] by age 85. Eighty-five percent can be treated in a community-based comprehensive cancer center.”
White Plains Hospital and NewYork– Presbyterian/Lawrence Hospital both have a substantial stake in assuming people will accept that notion. Each has invested more than $50 million in its respective cancer center. White Plains Hospital added 35,000 square feet of additional space with its new tower, which is connected to the existing center. NewYork-Presbyterian/Lawrence is housing its 40,000-square-foot unit—including new,
state-of-the-art operating rooms—on the site of a former garden. Other than the color schemes and square footage, they are, on paper, providing similar services: new infusion suites and a linear accelerator for enhanced radiation oncology capabilities, among others. Each boasts renowned on-staff physicians, clinical trials, cutting-edge equipment, and the ability to teleconference with additional specialists who may be in the Bronx or Manhattan or anywhere in the world. Both units are designed with an eye toward comfort for people undergoing the harsh treatment regimen cancer patients often endure.
Though the Bronxville and White Plains centers are the most recent additions to the arena, nearly every hospital in the county, in- cluding the 12-bed St. John’s Riverside Dobbs Ferry Pavilion, have oncology offerings, un- derscoring how pervasive a disease—and business opportunity—cancer is. While many people have excellent odds of winding up in remission, most cancer diagnoses necessitate years of monitoring. Attracting patients to their cancer centers ensures a long-term rela- tionship between patient and hospital.
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