Women throughout the borough will soon have a new place to turn for healthcare services.
Elmhurst Hospital Center (EHC) recently held a groundbreaking for a new Women’s Healthcare Services Pavilion, to be located on the south side of 41stAvenue, between 78th and 79th Streets, next to the hospital’s main building.
The state-of-the-art facility will house a variety of women’s health services, including gynecology; gynecological surgery; pregnancy and HIV testing and counseling; prenatal care and high-risk pregnancy monitoring. The Pavilion, expected to be completed by 2012, will also be home to a number of support programs, including classes in breastfeeding, childbirth, nutrition and diabetes education.
“The building of the new Pavilion will allow us to dramatically expand the scope of our services for women,” said Elmhurst Hospital Center Executive Director Chris Constantino, who added that the existing on-site medical clinics for women simply did not have enough space to accommodate the growing needs of the community. “In a building that was designed to serve 150,000 patients annually, we now see over 400,000. The new facility will account for both present and future needs, allowing for 5 percent annual growth in service capacity over a 5-year period.”
City Councilmember Helen Sears and other members of the Council allocated $8.5 million for the facility, which will contain more than 20,000 square feet of dedicated clinical space on two separate floors. In addition, $6 million in funding came from a New York State Heal Grant and the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation’s capital budget.
“This is a special moment for Elmhurst Hospital Center and for me,” said Sears, who recounted her efforts to appropriate funding for the Women’s Healthcare Services Pavilion during her two terms as a Councilmember. “This women’s health center had to be done, and after eight years, it’s finally becoming a reality.”
The Pavilion is being planned to meet the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards for environmentally sustainable construction. The building’s design includes a glass façade to allow in maximum natural light and space for children to play while their mothers wait to be seen in the clinics.
