by Kristina Gabalski
The purchase of many of Lakeside Memorial Hospital assets will re-establish urgent care and outpatient services in the complex closed two months ago. Shown at a press conference announcing the transition on Tuesday, June 18 were (l to r) Steven Goldstein, President and CEO Strong Memorial Hospital and Highland Hospital; James Cummings, Interim CEO Lakeside Health System; Nancy Plews, Board Chair of Lakeside Health System and Bradford C. Berk, M.D., Ph.D. URMC CEO.The transition of Lakeside Hospital to Strong West will serve as a model for similar transitions at other community hospitals, Bradford Berk, M.D., Ph.D., CEO of the University of Rochester Medical Center, said during the announcement Tuesday, June 18, that the Lakeside Board will sell most of the system’s assets to the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC).
“It’s the scaffolding for tomorrow’s health care system,” Berk said, echoing the words of Interim Lakeside Health CEO Jim Cummings, when Lakeside first announced major changes for the hospital back in February.
Those changes were not brought to fruition because the hospital was forced to close in April when the state was unable to provide grant money needed to assist with transition costs.
Lakeside Health System Board Chair Nancy Plews called the sale an exciting solution for the greater Brockport community and for Lakeside, but also found it difficult to express her emotions.
“It’s the best possible news for Brockport and the surrounding community,” Plews said. “Lakeside Hospital meant so much to so many people for 80 years. It means so much, words fail me… .”
URMC officials say the purchase includes a number of assets: the hospital itself, which will soon house urgent care, orthopaedic specialists, urologists and a host of other potential specialists along with lab, radiology, and a pharmacy to support patients cared for on the campus; the Physician Office Building, in which current tenants are welcome to remain; Lakeside’s Urgent Care Center in Spencerport; and the primary care practices of Vladimir Gaspar, M.D., and Didem Miraloglu, M.D., located in LeRoy and the Lakeside Physician Office Building respectively.
The Urgent Care center in Brockport could be opened as early as August, while URMC eventually pursues Department of Health approval for a full-service, free- standing Emergency Department, Berk said.
In the coming weeks, URMC will re-establish laboratory and imaging services, programs that will support Brockport-area physicians and the urgent care center.
Although it will not include any inpatient beds, Strong West will help close the gap left by the closure of Lakeside which, in its final year of operation, handled 17,000 emergency visits.
Berk said Lakeside will continue to own and operate its Beikirch Care Center, providing the same quality care for which they have been known.
“Tomorrow’s health care is all about supporting physicians in caring for patients outside of hospitals and preventing the need for hospital stays,” Berk said. “So, while we do not foresee reopening in-patient beds, we are looking to establish progressive outpatient services that make it easier for Brockport residents to receive routine diagnostic and treatment services.”
The transition will create 30 to 40 jobs initially for Urgent Care and up to 90 positions when there is a free-standing ER, Berk said.
“Former staff are welcome to apply,” he added.
The restoration of outpatient services is expected to be complete before students return to the College at Brockport for the fall semester, Berk said.
“SUNY Brockport has been very supportive,” he noted, of the sale to URMC.
“I applaud the Lakeside Board and URMC in coming together and creating a plan that invests in and supports the Brockport community,” College at Brockport President John R. Halstead said in a news release. “Having access to the necessary emergency and medical facilities is critical for our students and staff, and Strong West will be a great asset for the college and the region.”
Libby Caruso, Director of Health and Counseling at the Student Health Center at the college said she is “very, very happy to have the hope of an Emergency Room (in Brockport) and Urgent Care for after hours.”
She said ER services are important because “approximately five to seven students each week need a higher level of care for situations like appendicitis and asthma.”
As a Village of Brockport resident, Caruso said having outpatient services available right in the community is about “quality of life.”
She added that it is also a concern for residents to the west, in Orleans County, in communities like Albion and Holley, who depended on Lakeside for emergency care.
Lakeside Interim CEO Jim Cummings said when the Lakeside ER closed, transport times for local ambulance corps (many of which are volunteer and have only one ambulance) increased 20 to 40 minutes. Couple that with longer wait times at larger medical centers and communities could be without ambulance service for double or triple the normal times. When URMC is able to reestablish a freestanding ER in Brockport, ambulances will once again be able to transport to the village to stabilize patients before they are transferred to the facility of their choice, officials said.
Strong Memorial/Highland Hospital President and CEO Steven Goldstein called the past several months a “turbulent time” for Lakeside and the greater Brockport Community.
He said the purchase of Lakeside by URMC, “a terrific opportunity for the University. I envision a constant conversation with the community, the Lakeside Board and local physicians to determine the best way to provide care for the community.” Goldstein added that URMC’s Strong West will bring, “state of the art” medical services to Brockport.
Local leaders were thrilled with the news. Sweden Deputy Supervisor Rob Carges called the purchase of Lakeside exciting. “It’s a great thing for the community,” he said, “and hopefully a great thing for previous employees. It’s even more important for people to the west … like folks out in Kendall … it’s even farther for them to get to places like Unity.”
Brockport Police Chief Dan Varrenti called it “great news, fantastic,” and Brockport Village Trustee and Mayor-elect Margaret Blackman said, “I’m thrilled, absolutely thrilled and trusting that it is in the hands of the U of R.”
