Opening of St. James Hospital coming up on March 6

HORNELL — Most people can’t see the future. Even so, motorists traveling on busy Seneca Road-North in Hornellsville in 2019 got a good glimpse of greater Hornell’s healthcare future as the new St. James Hospital took shape right before their eyes.

The payoff comes in less than a month. St. James has announced that the new era will begin in mid to late March. At that time, the current St. James Hospital in the City of Hornell will close, and the new hospital will open.

The hospital will sponsor a community open house at the Seneca Road-North facility on March 6, starting at 1 p.m. Everyone is invited to attend the event, which will feature tours of the new facility.

“The opening of the new St. James Hospital is a statement to our community’s strength and resilience. It’s a reason to celebrate and to be proud ... now and for years to come,” hospital officials said on the St. James’ website.

Ground was broken in November 2017. Nearly $63 million in state funding was secured to build and equip the facility and to establish a new electronic health record system.

The year 2019 was a busy one at 7329 Seneca Road-North — the former Kmart Plaza site, as workers continued building the 87,000-square-foot medical facility under construction manager, LaChase.

A bold, eye-catching “UR Medicine/St. James Hospital” sign was installed high on the outside front wall of the hospital building in August. Behind the scenes, workers completed interior finish work, including furniture, equipment, decor, framing, and painting during the fall and summer months.

Here is what is coming at the new location:

- A two-story facility that includes a state-of-the-art emergency department with eight treatment rooms;

- A surgical suite that will have two operating rooms, two procedures rooms, and 15 pre/post surgery rooms;

- 15 rooms for inpatients.

- A bevy of services, from phlebotomy and lab, to pharmacy, advanced imaging, infusion and cardiac rehab.

There will also be a cafeteria and dining room, a gift and coffee shop, along with Conference rooms and administrative offices.

An adjacent Medical Office Building (MOB) opened in December 2018.

This has been a big, complex project, and the stewardship of the hospital board, and others, has been essential, according to Bryan O’Donovan, CEO and president of the hospital.

“I have an absolutely extraordinary board,” O’Donovan said. “From the board chairperson, Sue Grey, to secretary Pete Wall. Shawn Hogan is just such a champion of Hornell and supportive of this entire project. We wouldn’t be where we are without the St. James Board of Directors. Without a doubt.

“We also have University of Rochester representation, who have been quite instrumental in recruitment efforts and other initiatives.”

While the building was coming together during the summer, the hospital launched a $2 million capital campaign to raise financing for projects not included in the state allocation. The capital campaign will pay for a covered walkway connecting the new facility with the Medical Office Building. Also, funding will be used to build an outdoor courtyard for patients and visitors and to purchase additional medical equipment for patients.

“These additional projects will enhance the patient and visitor experience, and we are excited to give community members an opportunity to contribute toward these efforts,” O’Donovan said as the campaign began last summer.

St. James Hospital is a major regional employer, and professional staff recruitment is a key component of maintaining and strengthening services, according to hospital officials.

St. James has recruited 15 physicians over the last 18 months in collaboration with URMC, O’Donovan said. Other medical staff additions include two inpatient hospitalists, a urologist, cardiologist, an orthopaedic surgeon and physician assistant, and a primary care doctor.

Continuing, three Emergency Department physicians will join the medical staff in March and an ENT physician will begin duties in April or May. Finally, a neurosurgery pain management program begins in April.

“Through our partnership with UR Medicine, St. James has brought a host of healthcare services to Hornell, including primary care, general surgery, breast imaging and many specialty services,” hospital officials said.

O’Donovan sees the opening of the new hospital as an historic occasion, but he also sees it in the context of expanding services and the goal of allowing local residents to get cutting edge healthcare without traveling far from home.

“The goal of this hospital, this institution, is to treat patients in the Hornell community, to the extent possible,” O’Donovan said.

He continued, “The new hospital is absolutely a phenomenal addition — a historic addition to this community. But you look at our ambulatory program. We have nine programs, we have seven or eight specialties inside the specialities suite. We are seeing that not only if you build it the community will repatriate and use St. James as their primary place to receive healthcare, but also, we add what this community needs.

“Urology, additional cardiology, a viable physical therapy program. Primary care, which is now under the St. James umbrella. To have all of these programs right on the same campus, I think is such a huge benefit.

“If it is something we don’t have, you are already in a University of Rochester hospital. We can then help the patient get connected to where they need to be.”

— This story originally appeared in The Spectator’s 2020 Progress Edition, available in our office at 32 Broadway Mall.