KINGSTON — A key component of the new Health Alliance five-year redevelopment plan, announced last month, centers around a Medical Village for the old Kingston Hospital campus on Broadway. CEO and President David Scarpino outlined details of that vision.
What exactly is a Medical Village? ““Think about when you
go to the mall, there are typically one or two anchor tenants. And in
between, you’ve got all these little small boutique type stores,”
said Scarpino.
Primary care and behavioral health will be the main attractions, he noted.
Other adjunct services might include a green grocer, yoga, government offices, day care, alternative medicine. “It’s all of the collaboration that we can do with other providers in the community, all in one setting, in order to keep people healthy,” Scarpino said. “And because it’s on Broadway, it’s easily accessed.”
He indicated that similar facilities exist in other states, but this will be the first Medical Village in New York.
“Believe it or not, they’re in some of the poorest and neediest parts of the country,” Scarpino said. “The two that we always point to, there’s one in Detroit, and one in Reading, Pennsylvania.”
The first U.S. Health Village was developed in 2003 by the Granger Group, at a 180-acre site in Wyoming, Michigan. The $1 billion project includes organic grocery and YMCA fitness center. Scarpino called the innovation wildly successful.
“They have changed the way the community sees the health care system, they’ve created jobs, and they’ve kept people healthy,” Scarpino said.
Kingston Mayor Steven Noble is pleased with the plan for a Medical Village located next door to City Hall. He acknowledged the $133.6 million collaboration with Westchester Medical Center represents the largest health care investment in Ulster County history.
“This is exactly what we need to help guide us in the future, for us to reinvent this campus, not have it sit idle,” Noble said. “Getting people to eat healthier, be more active and looking at the total health of our community, and this fits into our vision.”
Transformation won’t happen overnight. State approval takes about six months, and a new tower must first be built at the Marys Avenue campus (Benedictine Hospital), before the Broadway campus can make room for its new purpose.
Many other changes will also take place during the course of Kingston’s ambitious Health Alliance of the Hudson Valley five-year plan.
Days before the Kingston medical village concept was unveiled, officials at Bon Secours Community Hospital in Port Jervis, also a part of the Westchester Medical Center’s network, unveiled a medical village concept for that facility.
