Recently the Constellation Brands and the Sands family committed to $20 million of $300 million to open a 128 bed facility with 23 OR’s on Rochester General’s campus.
Although this is a great project to bring new and advanced equipment and care to the area, I cannot help but think about former St. Mary’s and The Genesee Hospital one of which is now mostly psychiatry and the other no longer exists. The Genesee Hospital, formerly situated in the center of Rochester closed and was leveled over a decade ago. Such a shame as that building could have been an ideal spot for such a facility.
Closing hospitals over ten years ago, might have made some sense then, but if you go to any emergency department now, you know the wait is usually pretty long. Now we have several urgent care centers open all over the county and still have long wait times. Now 23 operating rooms and 128 beds is the same as a small hospital – Noyes in Dansville has 67 beds. Highland that has several different capabilities has a total of 261 beds. No one in the area has 23 OR’s.
With Kodak no longer the largest employer, and the University of Rochester taking that title our beloved little city may have shrunk a bit, but the health care needs have remained the same.
Projects that need to be finished in my recollection include the Port, Downtown (East Main St – the north side), the inner loop, The former Kodak property that still lacks full capacity. I am sure there are more, but off the top of my head these are a few.
Kudos to RGH for undertaking such a large project. It is seemingly improbable that we have continued to lose jobs, but we – as a city and county continue to thrive and not rot into obscurity like other small communities.
Let’s hope leaders, and philanthropists continue to help Rochester and Monroe County prosper.
