By Nick Buglione
Built in 1935, the medical pavilion is located on the original site of the old Meadowbrook Hospital and has needed renovations for years, according to doctors and hospital officials.
"This was the original medical hospital; it really hadn't been updated," said Richard Turan, president and CEO of the Nassau Health Care Corporation, which runs the NUMC. "I think the last time it had been updated was an extension in the 1950s."
The pavilion comprises the first floor of buildings A, B and E in the Nassau University Medical Center. The renovations took place over a 19,000-square foot area and included the replacement of floors, walls, ceilings, lighting and windows. New furniture and handicapped-accessible bathrooms were also put in.
"A lot of things needed to be updated," said Dr. Paul Pipia, the hospital's medical director. "Everybody likes to be treated in a nice place."
With 31 examination rooms outfitted with state-of-the-art equipment, the new medical pavilion will provide adult outpatient care in a number of sub-specialty fields, including allergies, dermatology, endocrinology and immunization.
The hospital's new Ground Zero Center, which offers pulmonary lung screenings for all uniformed officers and rescue workers that labored at the World Trade Center after Sept. 11, will also be located in the medical pavilion.
"This is a marvelous facility," said Lawrence Gottlieb, chairman of the Nassau Health Care Corporation Board of Directors. "This facility is far superior to anything I remember. We need to get the word out to the community that this place is as good as it is."
The renovations were made possible through a state-allocated grant from the Community Health Care Conversion Demonstration Project. The project was developed to assist hospitals in undertakings that strengthen the health-care infrastructure serving Medicaid-eligible and uninsured New Yorkers.
"Just because you are poor doesn't mean you [shouldn't receive quality care]," said Dr. Jacob Sokol. "We finally have hope for the future, and hopefully we can properly carry out our mission."
The medical pavilion fix-up is just one of several capital-improvement projects that the hospital has either completed or is planning.
Last April, the hospital opened its new emergency room after six months of work costing $1 million. They've also redesigned the Center of Primary Care and have a new radiation therapy system on-line.
These improvements come at a time when the Nassau Health Care Corporation is toiling with money problems. Before passing its budget for the 2002 fiscal year, the corporation was staring down an $82-million deficit. Through controlling spending, staff reductions and improved billing collections, corporation officials hope to take a $65-million bite out of the shortfall by the end of this fiscal year, while continuing to push through capital improvements.
"There are a lot of other things in store for the renovation of the medical center," said Turan, explaining that hospital officials plan to open an eye center and a pediatrics pavilion. He also noted that next month, they will be installing a sophisticated CAT scan.
A CAT scan takes multiple x-ray images of the body and uses a computer to construct from those images cross-sectional views. It's often used to check for internal injuries and bleeding.
