By Howard Koplowitz
The North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System is partnering with St. Vincent Catholic Medical Centers and the Rudin family to create a $110 million health center in Greenwich Village to fill the void created by the shuttered St. Vincent’s Hospital.
Under the agreement, St. Vincent’s is contributing the landmark O’Toole Building on the west side of Seventh Avenue between 12th and 13th streets to North Shore-LIJ, which plans to build the $110 million North Shore-LIJ Center for Comprehensive Care.
The Rudin family, a clan that has vast real estate holdings in the city, has agreed to provide $10 million to offset some of North Shore-LIJ’s costs.
“The Center for Comprehensive Care proposal is an innovative solution to the health-care dilemma facing residents of Greenwich Village and other local neighborhoods, who have been without a nearby emergency room and other critical health-care services since the closure of St. Vincent’s Hospital,” said North Shore-LIJ President and Chief Executive Officer Michael Dowling. “Our goal is to deliver a highly coordinated, full continuum of care in an easily accessible facility that will be open around the clock, including weekends and holidays. Making this facility a reality, however, will require city, state and federal approvals, all of which are needed for us to move forward with this project.”
The center is proposed to be a six-story, 160,000-square-foot facility and is slated to open in fall 2013 if it attains the necessary approvals.
The proposed medical facility is expected to create 400 permanent jobs while servicing 453 patients and 358 visitors a day.
The center would be the first stand-alone emergency and ambulatory care facility in the metropolitan area, and along with an urgent care center that North Shore-LIJ opened on West 20th Street, will provide expanded access to comprehensive health care for the community, the health system said.
St. Vincent’s operated Mary Immaculate Hospital in Jamaica and St. John’s in Elmhurst before selling both hospitals, which ultimately closed in 2009.
Mark Toney, St. Vincent’s chief restructuring officer and a partner at Grant Thornton LLP, said that with the contribution of the O’Toole Building, “health care is one step closer to returning to Greenwich Village.”
“Not only are we providing substantial recovery for our creditors, but we are also helping to provide a longterm care solution for the community,” he said.
Reach reporter Howard Koplowitz by e-mail at hkoplowitz@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4573.
