Lockport, N.Y. (WBEN) - A hospital with increased need following the June closing of the Eastern Niagara Hospital, the new Lockport Memorial Hospital was blessed, dedicated and unveiled to the public this Wednesday following a three-year construction process.
A campus of Catholic Health's Mount St. Mary's in Lewiston, this 60,000 square-foot facility will finally open its doors to the public next Tuesday morning.
"Just like the apple trees around us, we know this hospital will bear fruit in service to the local community," said Joyce Markiewicz, President and CEO of Catholic Health. "When our doors open on October 10, the residents of Eastern Niagara County can expect to receive up to 90% of their healthcare at this facility, with most being treated and released, admitted to the hospital or scheduled for a follow up appointment with one of our providers."
Markiewicz described the new hospital during the ceremony, which features an 18-bed full service Emergency Department; 10-bed inpatient unit with the ability to double to 20 beds; diagnostic imaging and laboratory services, including blood draw; and medical offices for primary care, women's health and specialty care services, which are slate to open before October's end.
As the hospital opens, Mount St. Mary's temporary emergency room located on 5875 S. Transit Road in Lockport will be closing its doors. The emergency operation has been servicing residents since mid-June.
"There are 200,000 residents up here [in Niagara County]," notes CJ Urlaub, Catholic Health's Senior VP of Strategic Partnerships and Care Delivery and Mount St. Mary's Hospital President. "This is not a tiny county, in population, or in it's vast expanse. I learned that there are some of the worst health measures of our population of our community here in all of New York State. That's not something to be proud of, and we deserve better. We deserve a hospital that will serve our county. Catholic Health saw this, the board, the executive team, that finance folks, [we] saw this as a moral obligation to deliver care to this community and to meet these unmet needs, and look behind me, the hospital is here!"
The hospital, located at 6001 Shimmer Drive, was built on a portion of land formerly owned by Hall's Apple Farm, a local staple in the Lockport community. The funding for this $70 million dollar project was completed through a combination of bond financing, public and private grants, funding secured through former Congressman Chris Jacobs and $30 million dollars invested by New York State.
"We know today, however, that no one hospital can be all things to all people. We want to make sure that patients at Lockport Memorial feel welcome in any of our hospitals should they need a different level of care. That is why we've devised a special transfer process that will create a better care experience for patients and their families. So for the families throughout Eastern Niagara County, I want you to know that Lockport Memorial Hospital is your hospital. On behalf of our entire care team, and all of the associates of Catholic Health, that have worked diligently to turn a vision into reality, it is our privilege to be here today fulfilling our mission and providing a facility that will maintain health care in this community for many years to come," concluded Markiewicz.
The hospital was designed by the architectural firm Chuck Patterson Lee. M/E Engineering served as the project engineer and The Pike Company provided construction management. Plans are currently underway to create an emergency vehicle access road from Rt. 93, the Lockport Bypass, to expedite the hospital access for ambulances and other emergency vehicles.
