Quoted Text

SCHENECTADY
Hospital to end years of service St. Clare’s assets to be absorbed by Ellis
BY MICHAEL LAMENDOLA Gazette Reporter

    St. Clare’s Hospital will surrender its operating license after 60 years of service and consolidate with Ellis Hospital, using a $50 million state grant announced Thursday.
    Within the same grant announcement, the state gave Schenectady County $3 million to cover planning costs associated with building a new 200-bed nursing facility as a replacement for the aging Glendale Home.
    “It is very sad when an organization as fine as this ends. It’s the end of an era,” said St. Clare’s CEO Bob Perry. “Ellis will take responsibility for all of the care in the community.”
    Ellis currently has no plans to close the St. Clare’s McClellan Street campus, but does plan to take over its property and other assets. When the process is completed, St. Clare’s will cease to exist as a separate, Catholic hospital in Schenectady County, leaving Ellis as the sole provider with three campuses: its own on Nott Street; the St. Clare’s campus; and the former Bellevue Woman’s Hospital campus in Niskayuna.
    The Commission on Health Care Facilities in the 21st Century, known as the Berger Commission, mandated closure of Bellevue and consolidation of Ellis and St. Clare’s. The recommendations became state law Jan. 1.
    Ellis CEO James Connolly called the pending demise of St. Clare’s “bittersweet. We have great reverence for what they have done and we are very clear in understanding the responsibility that we now take on.”
    Connolly said Ellis plans to continue St. Clare’s mission of providing care to the poor and uninsured. St. Clare’s is a key part of the safety net that provides primary care services to people with little no or health insurance in Schenectady County. Its emergency room is the third busiest in the Capital Region, but more than half of its visitors have little or no coverage.
    Ellis expects to lose money providing care to this vulnerable population, Connolly said, but the hospital will seek to maximize income by reducing redundant services and through other cost-cutting measures, which he did not specify.
    Perry said neither hospital can afford to absorb the others’ patients as of yet, and as such, both will likely keep their emergency rooms open.
    Connolly said Ellis is evaluating staffing for the combined operation and that it anticipates offering employment to many of St. Clare’s staff. He added some job losses are likely, though. Ellis will conduct public meetings to gather information on the reconfiguration of services.
    County Legislator Dr. Brian Gordon said he hopes Ellis includes groups representing doctors, patients and business and community leaders. Gordon wants discussions of “how to rationalize services. It is imperative we make sure this new health system achieves the goal of maintaining our excellent facilities and services. The closed door negotiations should end.”
    John Assini, president of the Schenectady County Medical Society, said St. Clare’s will continue serving the poor if not in name then in spirit. “Their mission isn’t going away because the hospital is the people and hopefully many of these people will remain to provide care to community,” he said.
    Assini said many view the proposed consolidation as in the best interest of the community. “I would hope this will result in a stronger health care system,” he said.
CHANGE COMING
    Connolly did not provide a time frame, but said “We are going to need to move expeditiously. We are concerned about the financial status of all three hospitals and of the other health care institutions in the community. We also need to figure out a better way to integrate with primary care groups in this community.”
    Perry said Bishop Howard Hubbard of the Albany Roman Catholic Diocese, which sponsors St. Clare’s, and the hospital’s Board of Trustees approved the decision to voluntarily surrender St. Clare’s operating license.
    “The option of continuing independently was not possible for us because of the people we serve,” Perry said. “I congratulate the bishop and the board. They made a difficult decision, but the best shot Schenectady has for efficiency is to come together as one organization.”
    Dr. Arnold Ritterband, chairman of the Schenectady County Committee on Health Care Issues, said the $50 million state grant “will make it much, much easier for the two hospitals to come together under a single governance agreement, which will allow them to function more effectively in many ways and give them more clout when negotiating with HMOs for reimbursement rates.” Paul Drisgula, CEO of Planned Parenthood Mohawk Hudson, said his agency believes the two hospitals have found “the right path” in their efforts to consolidate.
    Planned Parenthood raised concerns about access to abortion and other reproductive services in Schenectady County when the state mandated Bellevue’s closure.
    “We are confident the surviving institution, no matter what facilities it eventually operates, will continue to support the full range of reproductive health services available in our community today in a manner that neither stigmatizes nor isolates the women who seek them,” Drisgula said.
    State Department of Health spokeswoman Claudia Hutton said the state will have to approve any configuration of services to ensure they meet the needs of the community.
    “None of the services will be jeopardized, but Ellis and St. Clare’s may decide that certain kinds of treatment should be provided at one campus and certain services at another,” Hutton said. “We won’t dictate what they have to do.”
    DOH Commissioner Dr. Richard F. Daines said the $50 million grant to the hospitals and the $3 million grant to the county will provide “Schenectady County with the opportunity to move forward in planning and restructuring acute, primary and long-term care services provided to the residents of the county. We look forward to a continuing dialogue with the providers, physicians and consumers in the county as we work toward an integrated health care delivery system to meet the needs of all residents.”
PENSION LIABILITY
    Ellis will use the $50 million grant to fully cover St. Clare’s employee pension obligations, totaling $28.5 million, and to settle St. Clare’s debts, for employee severance and medical malpractice costs and to cover operating costs associated with the McClellan Street campus.
    St. Clare’s unfunded pension obligation was a sticking point toward further consolidation talks between the two hospitals. With the grant, Perry said the state “has recognized the good service of the people here. The pension is unfunded because St. Clare’s cares for the poor and it couldn’t make the contributions.”
    Ellis asked the state to cover the full pension obligation in an application it submitted last summer. The state had promised to award grants by the end of the year and the delays that followed caused concern among the medical staff and others, Assini said.
    “We have been anxious and concerned about the decision and there is an element of relief that a decision has been made,” Assini said.
GLENDALE HOME
    Schenectady County will use the $3 million grant to meet Berger Commission mandates that it downsize the Glendale Home. According to county officials, the state has agreed to allow the county to build a facility with 200 beds — 32 more beds than Berger recommended.
    “We were excluded from the negotiations regarding the hospitals, so we focused our efforts on the nursing home to ensure we that can provide quality nursing home care to our residents, and we won that fight,” said county spokeswoman Theresa Cassiack.
    Berger mandated the county reduce the number of beds at the skilled nursing home from 360 to 168. The county balked at this reduction and put in an application to build a new 240-bed facility. A county official said the county may obtain additional beds beyond the 200 already approved.
    Gordon said the grant will allow the county to “build a new nursing home that will ensure we will be able to maintain nursing care in a state-of-art environment in Schenectady County.”
    Hutton said the latest awards are in addition to previous awards the state gave to assist with the closure of Bellevue Woman’s Hospital and to help Ellis take over provision of women’s health care services at the former Bellevue campus.
    The state also provided $500,000 in grants to two other safety net primary clinics in Schenectady County: Hometown Health and the Schenectady Free Health Clinic.

Quoted Text

St. Clare's Hospital is a 200 bed acute care community hospital established in 1949 by the Albany Catholic Diocese.

It is located in the City of Schenectady on 19.8 acres of land. The campus includes the main hospital facility and two, free-standing and one connecting medical office buildings. The hospital borders Central Park, residential neighborhoods and commercial properties and is easily accessible via CDTA bus lines. Parking is free.

St. Clare's is a major provider of diagnostic, medical, surgical and therapeutic services. The hospital maintains a one-year dental residency training program and a three-year family practice residency. Both programs feature office settings, the Dental Health Center and the Family Health Center, respectively, which are open to the general public.

Quoted from bumblethru

I'd bet that the Catholic founders of St. Clares aren't pleased. Cause now abortions will be able to be performed at that location as well. To my understanding, because it was considered a Catholic hospital, no abortions were done there. But I don't know if they will end up making Bellevue the only location for women's health. Or if it will be available at both locations since Ellis doesn't offer the service.

Quoted from bumblethru

That is true senders. Why don't they have 'men's health center'? Is it that women have more needs or more wants?

And don't beat me up for that statement please! I'm just asking.

Quoted from Sombody

Men seldom get their nails done. Few men get pedicures either-  Get anything waxed lately ?

Chicks keep things a little more  " finely tuned "

Quoted Text

Let St. Clare’s keep its Catholic identity

    On Jan. 21, Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia was the main celebrant and homilist for the National Vigil for Life Opening Mass at the National Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. In his homily, Cardinal Rigali urged us to stop abortions.
    The Catholic identity of the building known as St. Clare’s Hospital will soon be terminated. This is a tragic loss. Schenectady will lose its haven for those who value life on all levels and the consecrated status of the building may very well be compromised.
    Ellis Hospital is a well-respected health care facility and will continue to be so. It does, however, permit abortions — and perhaps they will now be permitted in the building that once valued the fetus — life.
    For many reasons — and being prolife is among the many reasons — St. Clare’s Hospital should not lose its Catholic identity.
    ANGELA M. CIERVO
    Schenectady

Quoted Text

SCHENECTADY
Ellis seeks public input on services
Official wants to discuss future after consolidations
BY MICHAEL LAMENDOLA Gazette Reporter

    Ellis Hospital is asking the public for advice in developing Schenectady County’s health care system, according to its chief executive.
    The request for opinions and guidance follows Ellis’ consolidation with St. Clare’s and Bellevue Woman’s hospitals to become the community’s chief medical provider, said CEO James Connolly. The consolidation was ordered following a statewide study of hospital and nursing home services last year under the Berger Commission.
    “We are now in no man’s land with the process. We have a general direction we want to go,” Connolly said. “We are looking at what the system needs to look like for immediate and long-term care.”
    He made his comments Thursday to The Gazette’s editorial board.
    Connolly said Ellis will conduct dozens of community meetings through March to “give people a chance to have their say.” In April, it will ask the state Department of Health for money to put some system components in place, he said.
    The state this spring is offering $250 million in competitive grants to further restructure New York’s health care system. The grants are to strengthen primary care, eliminate excess bed capacity and reduce over-reliance on inpatient care in hospitals and nursing homes, according to the department’s Web site.
    To develop this new health care system, Ellis will work with Schenectady County government, primary care organizations, pharmacies, long-term care facilities, physician groups and other groups, Connolly said.
    “It won’t be a unilateral decision. The community is the customer, but I am charged with organizing a solution based on the resources available,” he said. “We need a centralized system, but it won’t be driven by the Ellis board.”
    He said the Ellis board sees its “responsibility as going beyond our walls. We are the main system, the main safety net provider.”
    As to what the future health care system may look like, Connolly described a scenario where St. Clare’s would handle urgent and acute care through its emergency room and Ellis would become the center for inpatient and speciality services.
    Ellis may relocate its 80-bed long-term care unit to St. Clare’s, allowing Ellis to expand its medical-surgical beds by a like number.
    St. Clare’s would lose its critical care unit and perhaps its maternity services to Bellevue but would keep its intensive care and ambulatory surgery centers, Connolly said.
    Bellevue would remain open for the time being, but Connolly said buildings on the hospital’s Niskayuna campus need repair and it would be cheaper to build a new women’s and children’s health center on the Ellis campus than to spend money to repair them.
    “Our position has always been that women’s health services should be on site next to a full-service hospital,” Connolly said. “We believe we need to build new on the Ellis campus.”
    Connolly said any future health care system in Schenectady County would require medical providers to work together. He would like to develop systems that link these providers so they can communicate immediately with one another about patients and allow them to register people for medical insurance. Both systems would improve primary care and reduce the number of uninsured in the county, he said.

Quoted Text

Connolly said any future health care system in Schenectady County would require medical providers to work together. He would like to develop systems that link these providers so they can communicate immediately with one another about patients and allow them to register people for medical insurance. Both systems would improve primary care and reduce the number of uninsured in the county, he said.