Hochul talks to reporters following tour of VBMC’s new pavilion
under construction
POUGHKEEPSIE – Touting an unemployment rate in Dutchess County
that has dropped 5 percent since Governor Cuomo took office, Lt. Governor
Kathy Hochul came to Vassar Brothers Medical Center in Poughkeepsie to
view the ongoing construction and learn about current job openings at
Health Quest, the parent company of Vassar Brothers.
The Lt. Governor, along with State Senator Sue Serino and Assemblyman
Frank Skartados learned that there are currently 300 or so job openings
in the Health Quest organization and, as the hospital expands, more will
become available.
Hochul indicated that the low unemployment rate might make it difficult
for the jobs to get filled by current residents but she plans to meet
with the senator and assemblyman to see if they can work to recruit employees
from outside of the area to relocate to the Hudson Valley to take advantage
of the job growth.
Hochul was greeted at the Patient Pavilion Prototype Experience on the
Vassar campus to get a firsthand look at what the new $500 million expansion
will look like upon completion. Hochul and other dignitaries toured the
building, which is open for tours on Wednesdays from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.,
to see what the patient rooms, critical care units, and nursing stations
will look like. Upon viewing the spacious patient rooms, the Lt. Governor
turned to her staff and said, “if anything happens to me, bring me
here” to which Health Quest Senior Vice-President Tim Massie said
“take me to Vassar” invoking the catchphrase that was coined
by hospital President Ann McMackin.
The 696,000 square foot construction project, which broke ground a few
months ago is scheduled to be operational in 2018 and is being funded
entirely by Health Quest except for $3 million in grants that have been
received from the state.
