HealthAlliance CEO David Lundquist. (Photo by Dan Barton)
Editor’s note: Here’s the press release from HealthAlliance of the Hudson Valley, in which the Kingston-based company details the progress of the Kingston-Benedictine hospitals consolidation process and announces name changes for its two (soon to be one) hospitals.
To offer the best care and patient experience possible, HealthAlliance of the Hudson Valley is progressing in its goal of transforming its Benedictine and Kingston Hospital campuses into a single, full-service secular hospital without limitations on reproductive services. The Benedictine Sisters have officially reached an agreement with HealthAlliance to relinquish sponsorship of Benedictine Hospital. As such, HealthAlliance will begin to change the names of Benedictine Hospital and Kingston Hospital to HealthAlliance Hospital: Mary’s Avenue Campus and Broadway Campus, respectively.
HealthAlliance has chosen St. Louis-based hospital design-build firm HBE Corporation to assess current infrastructure and make recommendations on renovations to the Mary’s Avenue campus. The final project costs will be determined over the course of HealthAlliance’s work with HBE Corporation, which is ranked consistently as a top design-build firm in Modern Healthcare Magazine. Financing for upgrades to HealthAlliance’s Mary’s Avenue campus will come from a variety of government and private sources.
HealthAlliance CEO David Lundquist said both campuses will continue to operate in Kingston until state approvals have been received and construction is complete.
“We have had an ongoing dialogue with state and local officials, and share a commitment to providing critical services for an underserved population,” said Lundquist. “We are pleased to report that we are having productive conversations with the New York State Department of Health regarding funding for our single-campus transformation, the amount of which is not finalized. We are also in discussions in the private sector to secure additional financing.”
Per the agreement, the Benedictine Sisters will continue providing pastoral care services at the hospital. At the Sisters’ request, HealthAlliance is assisting them in establishing an off-campus residence.
Lundquist said that the move to a single-campus will not only improve service to the community and enhance the work environment for employees, but will also ensure long-term access to quality healthcare in Ulster County.
“For over a century, the Benedictine and Kingston Hospitals took courageous steps to provide quality care to our community, as demonstrated by coming together in 2009,” said Lundquist. “We will continue that tradition as the community and healthcare environment evolve.”
A new sitcom: “The Facts of Life in Kingston”. Starring David Lundquist as the Househusband for the Nuns. Casting for the other cast members will be done by “Tootsie” for “Tootie” and the others at the Hurley Mountain Inn. First stained glass window in the residence will be “In Memory of Brian Dennehy.”
LOL