Catholic Health is making plans to expand its St. Francis Hospital campus located in Flower Hill, beginning conversations with the community about its plans and answering resident questions and concerns about growth and congestion.
“We realize we have significant space constraints within this campus, but even as we looked at all of those challenges, we wanted to ensure that we’re being as conscious and sensitive of the community we are surrounded by,” Christine Flaherty, Catholic Health senior vice president of real estate development and facilities management, said.
Representatives from Catholic Health presented the modernization plan at the Village of Flower Hill’s Board of Trustees meeting on Feb. 3.
The five-to ten year modernization plan is to make the facilities more contemporary and continue the hospital’s consistency of high care, St. Francis Hospital & Heart Center President Dr. Charles Lucore said. Flaherty said the plan is still in its early days.
The plan includes the goals of preserving the historic chapel at the center of the facility’s campus, decreasing traffic and congestion to the hospital by moving physician ambulatory services to another location and replacing its pavilion.
The physician ambulatory services would be moved to 2200 Northern Blvd.
Flaherty said this is a trend in healthcare where continued care doctor visits do not need to occur in a hospital and can be moved to an external facility. She said 30 physicians and their patients would be relocated to this facility.
Flaherty said construction has already begun for the new physician ambulatory services facility that is set to open this year.
She said plans at Catholic Health are also underway to move its radiology services to an external facility as well, which would further decrease congestion at St. Francis Hospital.
The footprint of the hospital would be increasing under this plan, utilizing 10 residential properties on Oak Tree Lane to increase its acreage. Flaherty said the hospital has no intention of closing the residential street.
One of the houses is occupied by a Catholic Health employee, one is occupied by its sisters and the remainder are occupied by residents or unoccupied.
Multiple residents said Oak Tree Lane has fallen into disrepair, calling it an “eye sore” and asking Catholic Health to keep up the neighborhood. One neighbor said the street has lost its charm and is now filled with “zombie houses.”
Deputy Mayor Frank Genese asked if the hospital could do some beautification on the street, comparing it to a “Hollywood stage set,” during the intermediary period of the modernization plan.
Flaherty said they will consider this request.
The hospital currently operates at a 95% occupancy level, Flaherty said, which is sometimes higher during surges.
The plan also aims to establish the greatest number of private patient rooms, which Flaherty said bolsters patient experience and care. She said the state Health Department mandates all new construction be private patient rooms.
Flaherty said Catholic Health is working with the community as it develops this plan. Questions can be submitted to Catholic Health via its website.
No schedule has been established as the plan is still undergoing schematics, Flaherty said. She said it’s too early to say when the schematics process would be done, but she does not anticipate a building application being submitted this year.
Mayor Randall Rosenbaum said no building application has been submitted to the village by St. Francis Hospital. He said the presentation was not an official building application.
