Her TLC Led To A State-of-the-Art Hospital For Queens

by HOWARD GIRSKY In early 2001 the City fathers will officiate at the opening of the new Queens Hospital Center. Standing alongside them will be the woman whose energy and determination made this state-of-the-art facility a reality. She is, of course, Borough President Claire Shulman.
Today the new building is taking shape, rising majestically over a Hospital that has been a beacon for health care for generations of Queens residents.
The borough president fought courageously to keep the Hospital from being privatized — a plan that had City Hall’s stamp of approval. But the borough president convinced Mayor Giuliani to infuse it with new life. As a result, Queens Hospital Center, one of Queens’ two municipal hospitals, is undergoing $149 million, 200-bed rehabilitation that will enable the institution to better serve the borough.
When the project was given a green light Shulman had this to say:
"Rebuilding Queens Hospital Center has been one of our highest and long-standing priorities. I am grateful to Mayor Giuliani for not only understanding the need to build this critical link in the provision of health care to southeast Queens, but for ensuring a mechanism to meet this need.
But Queens Hospital Center is special to Claire Shulman for two other reason. She served as a registered nurse there and met her husband there.
Built in the mid-1930’s and previously certified for 408 beds, the hospital serves the communities of southeast Queens, including South Jamaica, St. Albans, Laurelton and South Ozone Park. The Hospital handles approximately 310,000 ambulatory care visits annually, including emergency services.
Long an advocate for Queens hospitals, Shulman has campaigned for medical institutions that will make it unnecessary for local residents to cross into Manhattan for their health care needs.
The new Queens Hospital Center will create a comprehensive cancer center and women’s health facility. The Hospital’s 200 beds will include 100 for medical.surgical; 10 intensive care; 20 obstetrics/gynecology; 10 neonatal; 10 rehabilitation and 50 behavioral health (psychiatry and detoxification).
The women’s health unit will cover women from adolescence to senior citizens, offering them private rooms.
In its cancer unit the Hospital will cover a wide range of services, including breast, uterine, lungs, colon, prostate and head and neck, including surgery and chemotherapy.
No plans have been finalized yet for patient parking. The Hospital currently provides 600 spots off of 164 St. in Jamaica.
Officials at Queens Hospital Center point out that the new facility will joinwith such facilities as New York Hospital Medical Center of Queens and Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, Mary Immaculate and Flushing Hospital.
The new facility is funded by the New York State Dormitory Authority of New York (DASNY). The building was designed by Arthur Hoey, perkins & Will. Davis Brody Bond is the architect.