SCHENECTADY Ellis Hospital to hold open house Sunday BY MICHAEL LAMENDOLA Gazette Reporter
The public has had an opportunity to sound off on the merger of Ellis Hospital with two other hospitals in Schenectady County. Now people will have a chance Sunday to see the changes firsthand at an open house. Ellis is offering tours at its three campuses. Tours are from 1 to 4 p.m. at 1101 Nott St., site of Ellis Hospital; 600 McClellan St., home of the former St. Clare’s Hospital; and 2210 Troy Road (Route 7), location of the former Bellevue Woman’s Hospital, now called the Bellevue Woman’s Care Center. “It is an important day for us. We want them to come see,” said Donna Evans, spokeswoman for Ellis. “This is a part of our effort to keep on communicating to the public about what is happening.” Music will be offered at each campus. There will be a harpist at Bellevue, a classical guitarist at Ellis and a two-piece band at McClellan. Clowns will present pocket magic at all three campuses, and doughnuts and cider will be on hand. Shuttles will take visitors between the campuses for tours. “The music is more celebratory. These are hospitals and the music can’t be loud because patients will be there,” Evans said. The 30-minute tours will focus on specific areas of each campus. At Ellis, people will visit radiology and see the 64-slice CT scanner. They also will visit six treatment rooms in the Emergency Department, built to handle more patients and shorten wait times. The hospital will also demonstrate its state-of-theart bar coding system to track patient medications. At McClellan, tours will visit the imaging center, the Emergency Department and the Sleep Disorder Center. At Bellevue, the tour will focus on the labor and delivery areas. Tour guides will answer questions. Ellis CEO James Connolly will be at Ellis and senior administrative staff will be at the other campuses during the open house. This is the first open house since Ellis this summer became the county’s sole medical provider of hospital services. It took over St. Clare’s Hospital’s assets when the hospital surrendered its license in June, and it took over Bellevue last year after it closed under order of the state. Bellevue was supposed to close completely, and Ellis and St. Clare’s were supposed to consolidate services as part of recommendations in 2006 by the New York State Commission on Health Care Facilities in the 21st Century, also known as the Berger Commission for its chairman, Stephen Berger. The recommendations became state law in 2007. Instead, Ellis decided to keep Bellevue open, at least until it can build a free-standing women and children’s center on the Ellis campus, and decided to convert St. Clare’s into an outpatient facility, closing down its inpatient services. The closure of St. Clare’s overwhelmed Ellis’ Emergency Department as many people thought St. Clare’s Emergency Department had closed along with its other services, hospitals officials said. The confusion led to long wait times at Ellis and to intervention by the state Department of Health to resolve the problems. Ellis remodeled its Emergency Department by relocating imaging services to St. Clare’s. It plans to build a new Emergency Department within three to five years. Evans said St. Clare’s Emergency Department remains open, as people will see during the tour, and it will continue to remain open for the time being. In fact, Ellis is awaiting word on a $5 million grant it is seeking from the state. If it gets the full award, Ellis would transform the McClellan campus into a regional primary care center, capable of serving thousands of people annually in a one-stop setting.
BARRY SLOAN/GAZETTE PHOTOGRAPHER A.R. Sivaprasad, a CT technician, explains how the CT Scanner is used at Ellis Hospital in Schenectady Friday afternoon.
Sorry to hear that MT. I send my best to your mom and your family.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
SCHENECTADY Ellis Hospital holds open house More changes aim to further trim emergency visit delays BY CARI SCRIBNER Gazette Reporter
Officials at Ellis Hospital held an open house Sunday afternoon in an effort to show the public their hospital’s ability to handle more emergency department patients after its merger with with two other area hospitals. Following complaints of waits up to eight hours to be seen by a physician when walking in for emergency services, Ellis President and CEO James Connolly said the goal now is to get patients into rooms within 30 minutes of arrival. This schedule does not apply to those arriving by ambulance and in need of immediate care, Connolly said. “There were unacceptable wait times due to the initial shift in volume,” Connolly said. “The problem was there were not enough in-patient beds, and we’re taking care of that.” The changes in volume of patients took place this summer when Ellis Hospital on Nott Street merged with St. Clare’s Hospital, now the McClellan campus, and Bellevue Women’s Hospital on Route 7 in Niskayuna, now run by Ellis as the Bellevue Woman’s Care Center. As the sole large-scale health care provider for Schenectady County residents, officials have been hurrying to ease concerns that people won’t be able to access emergency care in times of need. Hospital spokeswoman Donna Evans said the waits were part of the transitional time after the merger, and also due to an unexpected rush of patients. “More people came in faster than we anticipated,” Evans said. “Part of this open house is to thank people for their patience with us during this time.” As part of the hospital tours offered throughout the day, people had a look at the 12 new beds added to the original 22 in the Emergency Department. Another five will open this fall, bringing the total to 39 available beds. Connolly said the expanded number of beds will allow patients to complete their emergency department visit within 2 /2 hours, including being placed in a bed within 30 minutes, seen by a doctor within another 30 minutes, and having lab tests run and reviewed in another 45 minutes. More improvements are in the works in months to come to better handle the influx of patients. “Opening more beds is our shortterm solution,” Evans said. “Longer-term, we’re going to renovate and upgrade the entire emergency department.” Evans said the McClellan facility is still open for emergency services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and will continue providing these services for “at least the foreseeable future.” Evans said people are already becoming more aware of which facility they can head to in emergencies. “There was confusion about what campus offered what service, and now we’re getting everyone acclimated,” Evans said. Consolidation of the hospital facilities was required following the 2006 recommendations by the state Commission on Health Care Facilities in the 21st Century, also known as the Berger Commission after its chairman, Stephen Berger. The recommendations became state law in 2007. About 200 visitors who attended the open house were led on tours through the quiet hallways to see the radiology department and a demonstration of the new computer-based system for dispensing medications. A portable computer is wheeled to a patient’s bedside. The system scans bar codes on the medicine containers and patient wristbands to ensure the proper dosage is being administered at the proper time. Drawers holding the medications are locked in between visits to the patients in their beds. “Nurses still give the medications, but this system validates everything,” Carla Wyllie, emergency department nursing director, said. In a waiting area, people at the open house picked up information and brochures on various health topics, including diabetes care, weight control and nutrition. Many took home samples of skin care products and travel-sized fi rst aid kits. “I was here years ago when a family member was sick, but it looks much bigger now,” Nancy Roberts of Schenectady said. “It’s not a place you want to come to, but everyone seems friendly and I think Ellis is still known as a very good hospital.”
Seeing what's new at old St. Clare's Open houses at Ellis' McClellan campus meant to help educate public after hospital merger
By LAUREN STANFORTH, Staff writer First published: Monday, September 15, 2008
SCHENECTADY -- Kathryn Seward, a technologist at the former St. Clare's Hospital, was about to show two couples some of the CT scan services now being run by nearby Ellis Hospital. "Welcome to St. Cla ... I mean, Ellis's McClellan campus," Seward said, laughing during a tour Sunday of the facility. "Sorry, we all still have to get used to that."
If it is that confusing for the staff, it's more so for some members of the public as St. Clare's Hospital on McClellan Street merged with Nott Street's Ellis Hospital under a state-mandated consolidation in June.
On Sunday, Ellis opened the doors at its three campuses, which also include the former Bellevue Woman's Hospital in Niskayuna, to show the public what services are now offered at the sites.
Ellis is still a fully functioning hospital, and Bellevue still does what it's known for, delivering babies. But the former St. Clare's building, now used for outpatient services, is more of a mystery for some.
"So many people think it's closed," said Paul Milton, Ellis's chief operating officer, referring to the McClellan Street facility, which he said still has an emergency room open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The former St. Clare's ER sees about 90 patients a day, about 20 fewer than before the merger. Of those, about six a day are transferred to Ellis for admission because the new McClellan campus has no inpatient beds.
The facility, however, does offer services including outpatient surgery, mammography and a sleep disorders center.
About 50 people took an hour-long tour of the McClellan campus recently. Among them was Dr. Robert Liebers, an Ellis Hospital trustee, with his wife, Mary. He said he hadn't been in the building since he retired from St. Clare's as an oral surgeon in 1999.
"I'm thrilled with it," he said. "The parking is convenient, everything is up-to-date."
He was especially happy to see the large carving of St. Francis of Assisi, left from when the Albany Catholic Diocese ran the hospital, still hanging in the hospital's lobby.
Roz and Hal Menter, who live three blocks away on Rankin Avenue, said they wanted to see inside the former St. Clare's because they were confused about what services are offered there. Roz Menter asked the tour's leaders about rumored long wait times at Ellis's emergency room, and if it would be faster to go directly to Ellis instead of going to the McClellan ER first.
Hospital officials said wait times vary at Ellis, and that the McClellan ER is good if you believe you don't have a life-threatening emergency.
Milton said the hospital's goal is to take less than four hours to admit to Ellis if you need to be transferred there from McClellan's ER.
"At least it clears up a question mark," Roz Menter, 68, said at the tour's end. "Hopefully, we'll not need to be hospitalized anytime soon, though."
Ellis spokeswoman Donna Evans said about 200 people attended among all three open houses. Stanforth can be reached at 454-5697 or by e-mail at lstanforth@timesunion.com.
Ellis Hospital highlighted its recent changes during an open house at the three campuses throughout Schenectady County.
The hospital, which was forced to merge with St. Clare’s Hospital and Bellevue Woman’s Hospital as a result of a state mandate, took residents around the building and explained some of the new technology and recent updates.
Hundreds of residents visited the three Ellis Hospital campuses Sunday, Sept. 14, to view the facilities and reacquaint themselves with the new services. “We’re very excited to open up to the public,” said Wendy Rosher, vice president of clinical services.
She said the open house, is a celebration of the hospitals’ consolidation with St. Clare’s, on McClellan Street in Schenectady, and Bellevue, on Route 7 in Niskayuna. Although Bellevue was supposed to close under the recommendations from the state Commission on Health Care Facilities in the 21st Century, also known as the Berger Commission, Ellis decided to continue services at the Bellevue Woman’s Health Care Center.
“Today is about celebrating and showing the public that we are here for them,” Rosher said.
Several patients criticized the hospital, saying they experienced long wait times in the emergency room.
“We are working to improve the wait time at the emergency room,” Rosher said. She said the hospital has added beds to cut back on wait times.
A spokeswoman for the hospital, Donna Evans, said they added 12 new beds to the emergency department this summer. She also noted that the emergency department is under construction, and will be adding about seven new beds for emergency room patients.
When construction is complete, Evans said, “We will have doubled our emergency department.”
Another way the hospital is working to cut down on wait times is in the way they triage patients, moving them more quickly into their rooms.
“Were not taking away from any patient spaces,” said Lynne Guarneri, office manager of nurse staffing, on the expansion of the emergency room. She said the hospital revamped the X-ray department and removed a records room to expand the emergency department.
In addition to the upgrades in the emergency department, the tour of Ellis Hospital, located on Nott Street in Schenectady, gave a comprehensive look at the hospital’s facilities, which include a new intensive care unit, and equipment, including a 64-Slice CT Scanner.
During the tour, guests were able to see the scanner, which looks for blocked vessels by providing a three-dimensional view of the body, allowing radiologists to conduct balloon studies or place stents in the vessels, according to Director of Radiology Bill Doak.
The new scanner cost $1.7 million, and renovations to the radiology department to accommodate the scanner and add a waiting space cost $2.8 million, according to Doak.
The new ICU wing is two floors with 18 beds on each floor. One floor is a medical ICU with a focus on neurology while the other floor is a surgical ICU concentrating on cardiac cases.
Guarneri said each ICU room is staffed with two nurses and that the waiting room has showers, computers and televisions for hospital visitors who are staying with family for extended periods.
“It’s a very comfortable setting,” Guarneri said. The ICU wing opened two years ago and has the potential to grow upward, she said.
Also unique to Ellis Hospital is the Leibers Contemplation Room, which offers views of Schenectady where a patient or family member can seek some peace and quiet.
The room is named for an Ellis Hospital Board of Trustees member Robert M. Leibers, who has served on the board since 1997.
Guests to the hospital were also able to view a computerized prescription dispenser, which is used by nurses to determine the drug, dose and time of day a patient receives his or her medication.
Since the merger with St. Clare’s became official in June, the hospital has been working to organize its services across the two campuses.
St. Clare’s is mainly used for outpatient services, however, Evans said they still have a fully operation emergency department, which is open 24/7.
Some of the outpatient services included in St. Clare’s are medical imaging, a wound care center, a sleep disorder clinic, primary care and pediatric care, as well as a dental care center.
Connie Ciervo, who has spearheaded the movement to re-open St. Clares Hospital, will be discussing this issue on channel 6, in a two part series Wednesday and Thurday on the 11pm news.
I would encourage everyone to watch it and hear the information she has to share.
http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....amp;EntityId=Ar01001............................. In other business, Ellis President and Chief Executive Officer James Connolly will update county legislators on efforts to restructure health care in Schenectady County. Ellis became only hospital in the county after St. Clare’s closed this year and after Bellevue Woman’s Hospital closed last year. State recommendations prompted the changes.
Logged
