SCHENECTADY, N.Y. -- "Like everyone we're living with the increased cost of energy," said Jim Connolly, President and CEO of Ellis Hospital. "Most people realize we're a 24-7 operation. We run buildings, large buildings, heat them, cool them, provide power.”
And by the end of the month, Connolly and his management team will be doing so in these buildings on the St. Clare's Hospital campus. Connolly says essentially all employees here will be offered jobs under the new management. The transition will also mean the loss of 168 beds at St Clare's. But Connolly says those beds were empty anyway.
"We have plenty of beds for the community," Connolly said.
Generally Ellis' main campus will be the inpatient facility, while the former St. Clare campus will be for outpatient services, including CT and MRI imaging.
"The [imaging] facility is brand new," Connolly said.
St. Clare's Hospital in Schenectady is officially getting a new name and new management, starting Monday. As a result of the Berger Commission recommendations, St. Clare's will become the McClellan Campus of Ellis Hospital. Our Britt Godshalk takes a look at what this will mean for healthcare in the Electric City.
There is similar equipment over at Ellis, but he says outpatients there often get bumped out of line to use it if an inpatient comes in.
"By separating it now and having all the outpatients come here and have the Ellis site reserved for inpatients and emergencies, you, as an outpatient, are less likely to get bumped," said Connolly.
OB/GYN care has been temporarily bumped to Bellevue, which Ellis took over last year. Connolly said in a few years, a new women and children's center will be built on the main Ellis Campus, "where it'll be contiguous with a full service hospital where you really should be located," he said.
Connolly said the Ellis system will have two emergency rooms, for now, one on the main campus and one at the McClellan campus, formerly St. Clare's. Eventually, the E.R. at McClellan will close, bringing the number of E.R.s in Schenectady down to one.
"But we'll still need to have at least an urgent care presence on this campus, we're not sure when we'll move to that kind of a model," Connolly said.
He said under the new system, doctors will be able to pull up patient information from any other campus.
"So if you present in the emergency room they'll be able to pull the images that may have done here on this site, six months earlier," Connolly said.
He said the link between the campuses will start to form Monday, when Ellis management begins to move in.
To assist patients, physicians and other health care providers with any questions regarding the realignment of programs and services, Ellis has established an information line at 1-888-ELLIS INFO (1-888-355-4746).