With the help of $25-million in tax-exempt bonds, Cayuga Medical Center is planning to open a new laboratory, expand and redesign its surgical center and update equipment at its urgent care center over next year, CMC officials say.
The Tompkins County Legislature unanimously voted to grant CMC the bonds in March, according to John Turner, vice president of public relations for CMC. Because the nonprofit hospital is exempt from taxes, Tompkins County residents will not have to pay for the upgrades to the hospital, according to John Collett, vice president and chief financial officer of CMC.
The hospital is slated to begin renovations in December.
The funds will help finance the establishment and upgrades of several wings in the hospital, according to Turner. For instance, the hospital will open a new maternity wing in December, improve its obstetrics and gynecology departments and begin major renovations on a surgical wing in January.
Additionally, the hospital will use the funds to finance upgrades in the equipment it uses to store patients’ files.
Turner also said that, although CMC currently functions as a regional test center — offering diagnostic services to doctors across the region — with the $25-million bond, CMC will be able to expand its services and open a new lab.
“We are continuing to meet the needs of the community,” Turner said.
Lou LoVecchio, assistant vice president of CMC, said the hospital’s renovations will help improve the quality of care it can offer its patients.
“We are very excited,” LoVecchio said.
The hospital has undergone many updates since it was first established at its site in 1979, according to LoVecchio, who added that very little of the hospital’s original structure remains.
The hospital, which has 204 beds and employs more than 1,200 health-care professionals, sees more than 150,000 patients a year, according to its website.
Original Author: Emma Quigley