New York Hospital Queens (NYHQ) has opened up its new west wing, which will now offer the community the most state-of-the-art care.
The new, 190,000-square-foot wing was about five years in the making, from the idea to the reality, explained NYHQ President and CEO Stephen Mills.
“I wanted to be sure that the Queens population understood that we are making progress, we are developing state-of-the-art facilities,” Mills said of his vision. “I wanted that [sense of comfort] to be expressed in our building to that they could feel when they are here we were going to take care of them, and I think we’ve achieved that.”
Mills said that the new lobby “says it all” and gives that sense of comfort and caring. It includes meditation areas, chapels and a concierge, among other amenities.
On the first floor, there is also an ambulatory surgery center that has 10 operating rooms and 33 recovery beds. The other levels include interventional, orthopedic and medical surgery floors.
“I think they’re modern, state-of-the-art, comfortable; patients like them,” Mills said of the new floors. “This gives us a real opportunity to give to this community the best there is anywhere, the best technology and state-of-the-art care.”
Mills said that what he is most proud of in the new building is how technologically advanced it is.
Currently, the seventh and eighth floors of the new wing are empty with no specific plan just yet. Mills explained that, in the middle of the project, they decided to add two more floors since the foundation could hold four more. He said he knew it would be difficult to add floors once patients were already in there.
Although the hospital has not made plans for the floors yet, Mills said he foresees a need for more intensive care unit beds and space for more programs.
“It’s an insurance policy,” he said of having the space, adding that now NYHQ needs the capital to build inside of those two floors.
NYHQ, which is located at 56-45 Main Street in Flushing, has added employees as they have expanded, including those who formerly worked at the three hospitals that have closed in the boroughs. He said that having the new building has helped to attract new employees.
Mills said that new wing will help the community feel the “open arms of the institution.”
“We need to make everybody feel they can come to this place and be cared for. That’s what I want to achieve out of this and I think we’re well on our way,” Mills said. “A building is a building; it’s what’s inside that makes a difference.”
Mills continued, “It’s a building but it’s an important symbol to say ‘we are here for you.’ We are a not-for-profit organization. Our only goal is to provide better care and access to the population that lives in greater Queens and Flushing in particular. We want everybody to feel comfortable that whatever you need is right here.”
For more information on NYHQ, visit www.nyhq.org.
