Richmond University Medical Center, in the West Brighton neighborhood of Staten Island, is seeking a bigger capacity. Officials stated the city allocated $12.5 million dollars for the construction of the new emergency room with a larger capacity.
That funding also includes the $7 million from City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and $4 million dollars from Borough President James Oddo. Their contributions will go towards building the new emergency room's heat and power plant.
Additionally, the hospital at 355 Bard Avenue will also receive $1 million from Councilwoman Debi Rose and $500,000 from Councilman Steven Matteo.
The hospital was unable to fix the facility without the safety net of public funding and financial assistance. RUMC's current hospital emergency room is more than 40 years old, making it outdated and dangerously over capacity; this is why the update is crucial. The emergency room itself was designed to accommodate 25,000 annual visits. Today, RUMC currently sees more than 65,000 patients in the facility a year.
The $60 million dollar upgrade will give RUMC a new two-story emergency room. This also includes an increase in its room's size, added private treatment rooms, new equipment, designated triage and trauma rooms, and more to allow the hospital to better cater to its Staten Island patients. These upgrades will be built onto the existing emergency room, which will be retrofitted for a different use, according to the hospital.
In last year's budget, the city sent in about $13.5 million for the emergency room. The project began in April when they demolished the Villa Annex Building and crews are preparing to demolish the Fitzpatrick Building.
The construction is expected to be finished by fall of 2019.
