White Plains Hospital begins expansion to improve quality of care for patients, caregivers

"

White Plains Hospital has been a part of the city for more than 130 years. Now, the hospital is embarking on its next big expansion. What once was the hospital's old parking garage will soon be its new inpatient space. It will incorporate 144 private, single-patient rooms. The hospital will also be expanding its operating room suite and its emergency department. The plan has been in the making for years to alleviate capacity constraints. Since 2010, the hospital saw a nearly 50% increase in its inpatient volume and a 61% increase in its emergency department. "It'll be a 10-story addition and will connect to the legacy campus on the bottom three floors," said Josh Strugatz, the chief campus transformation officer at White Plains Hospital. "That will allow our emergency department, our entry and our surgical areas to connect seamlessly across the entire building." Health care officials say the expansion will not only improve the quality of care for patients, but also for their families and friends. "What we believe is there's really two aspects to the healing process of disease," said James Peacock, a physician at White Plains Hospital. "Number one is the medical treatment that you get, [and] number two [is that] the healing factor really has to account for family and loved ones." All 144 single-patient rooms will have dedicated seating areas for caregivers and visitors, as well as natural lighting and private bathrooms. Nurses stations will also be designed to specifically see patients through the window while still giving their visitors some privacy. "That's going to give space for not only modern, complex medical care, but also a room to have the human component be involved." The planned expansion is set to be complete by 2028. "