By Douglass Dowty
syracuse.com
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Upstate University Hospital would get $200 million for a new emergency room and other facilities under Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposed budget, Assemblyman Al Stirpe confirmed to syracuse.com.
But that’s less than half of the $450 million that Upstate officials — and Central New York’s bi-partisan state delegation — had pushed for.
“I guess it’s an OK start, but I don’t know if it gets us through where we need to be with the ER, the burn center and expanded operating rooms,” Stirpe told syracuse.com. “I don’t think we can go under the $450 number.”
In a letter to Hochul last month, Stripe and nine other Central New York lawmakers argued that SUNY Upstate should get the same $450 million for capital improvements that its Brooklyn counterpart, SUNY Downstate, requested.
“The current ED (emergency department) is over 60 years old and is inadequate for today’s standards of care and increasing demand,” the lawmakers wrote. “A new, up-to-date sound infrastructure is a necessity to treat patients as well as address regional capacity issues and overcrowding, all while balancing the continuum of care.”
Assemblyman William Magnarelli has previously told syracuse.com that Upstate’s needs are “through the roof” and said the letter was intended to outline “how grave the situation is.”
Hochul’s office confirmed to syracuse.com that the two SUNY hospitals would receive $650 million for “modernization and revitalization,” with Downstate getting $450 million and Upstate getting $200 million.
For its part, Upstate leadership thanked the governor and said the money was enough to begin needed upgrades.
“The $200 million outlined in the Executive Budget provides an incredible foundation for the annex plan that will help Upstate address some of its most pressing needs,” the statement reads. “With this support from Governor Hochul and the Legislature, we can begin these essential infrastructure upgrades and recognize Upstate’s crucial role as the region’s only Level 1 trauma center and emergency department for adults and children.”
Upstate’s ER has been notorious for years for being too busy and too small to meet the demand of being the region’s only Level 1 trauma center. The adult ER has 35 beds to treat the most intense emergencies across 14 counties.
The hospital previously had plans to expand the emergency room into a new tower across East Adams Street from the existing ER. That proposal never came to fruition.
The latest proposal is described as an annex, not a tower, and its location hasn’t been determined. The hope is that the annex would more than double the capacity of the ER, add more operating rooms and expand the region’s only burn unit.
Upstate officials haven’t said how big the new annex might be. It’s unclear if $200 million is enough to do any of the plans that Upstate is envisioning.
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