Community Spotlight: UHS Chenango Memorial Hospital
The UHS Chenango Memorial Hospital Neighborhood Project. (Submitted photo)
by Sophia Root,
Commerce Chenango
This week, Commerce Chenango would like to highlight UHS Chenango Memorial Hospital, the only hospital in Chenango County, founded in Norwich 113 years ago.
The hospital is Chenango County’s fifth largest employer, giving out 600 paychecks.
The hospital, which Executive Director of the Chenango Memorial Hospital Foundation Melissa Stagnaro called: Chenango County’s “hub of healthcare” has served the county and greater Chenango areas since its foundation in 1910.
The hospital was founded after there was a railway accident and there was no hospital to support the local community. Realizing this, the local community raised $150,000 ($3.5 million at present) in 11 days and established a hospital on the corner of Hale Street and South Broad Street. Last year, the hospital helped deliver 201 babies. Only 45% of rural hospitals have maternity care, and UHS Chenango Memorial Hospital is proud to be one of them, especially considering the next delivery facility is in a hospital an hour away.
After the hospital was established, it underwent renovations in 1929, 1958, 1970, and another in 2020. The most recent project is called the Chenango Memorial Hospital Neighborhood Project. Initialized in 2018, phase 1 was completed in the beginning of 2022.
Phase 1 included the relocation and renovation of the emergency room and walk in center. In the year after the renovations, there were more than 8,000 walk in patients and more than 16,000 emergency room visits. The hospital is always replacing and updating equipment to provide an appropriate environment of care for their patients.
Recently, UHS Chenango Memorial Hospital was awarded $20 million from the New York State Department of Health as part of the Statewide Healthcare Facility Transformation Program. This will help the hospital progress on phase 2 of their Chenango Memorial Hospital Neighborhood Project.
Plans for this phase include: a new infusion center, a women’s diagnostic imaging center, a new pre-admission testing center, a new outpatient laboratory, a new specialty care suite, bringing the orthopedic division into the hospital, and more. Each of the phases of this project are estimated at about $26 million, made possible by state grants and fundraising.
Stagnaro claims that it is an exciting time to work at UHS Chenango Memorial Hospital because “we haven’t seen this level of investments or transformations in the past 50 years”. The hospital is looking forward to the next 5 years with stage 2 of their neighborhood project.
“This isn’t just about improving the facility” said Stagnaro. “This is about improving how we take care of our community and enhancing the ability of our staff to do so as well.”
UHS Chenango Memorial Hospital is grateful for the community support they receive, evidenced by the most recent Capital Campaign Fundraiser. This was extremely successful, with the hospital setting a goal of $3 million and ultimately raising more than $6.5 million. Stagnaro said, “The success of the campaign really tells the story of the relationship between the hospital and the community, and the community and the hospital”.
There are two volunteer organizations that have their sole focus on supporting the hospital: The UHS Chenango Memorial Hospital Auxiliary, which has their annual festival of trees fundraiser on Saturday, November 18, 2023, and the Chenango Memorial Hospital Foundation, which is anticipating their annual appeal. Both organizations provide great support to the hospital, and Stagnaro claims that the hospital is lucky to have them. This past summer, the UHS Chenango Memorial Hospital Annual Golf Tournament raised $50,000 for the hospital.
The mission of UHS Chenango Memorial Hospital is service to the community, which has a different meaning in a small town. There is a special connection to community, as most of the care providers are from here and they care for their friends, families, teachers, coworkers, etc. Stagnaro highlighted this: “We know the people who come through our doors. We don’t just provide clinical services; we are deeply rooted in our community.”
UHS Chenango Memorial Hospital is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days of the year. Operating a hospital takes an exceptional caregiving staff, which Stagnaro called the most valuable resource.
Caregivers, by her definition, are the people who care for patients directly, and those who provide indirect support. Like many hospitals, especially in New York State, UHS Chenango Memorial Hospital relies on travelling and contract nurses to care for patients and man emergency rooms.
The hospital is always recruiting staff, which proves to be a challenge at times. They are welcoming new providers (including a Nephrologist Dr. Zaima Choudhry, a kidney specialist) a returning general surgeon Dr. Michael Wingate, a new Family Nurse Practitioner at their Oxford Primary Care location Allison Taratto, a new speech therapist Viera Blazevska and Nurse Practitioner Lorrie Vail now seeing patients in the Norwich Women’s Health location. They are currently offering opportunities in the healthcare field, environmental services, and facilities. If you are interested in joining their team, learn more and apply on their website at www.nyuhs.org
Commerce Chenango
This week, Commerce Chenango would like to highlight UHS Chenango Memorial Hospital, the only hospital in Chenango County, founded in Norwich 113 years ago.
The hospital is Chenango County’s fifth largest employer, giving out 600 paychecks.
The hospital, which Executive Director of the Chenango Memorial Hospital Foundation Melissa Stagnaro called: Chenango County’s “hub of healthcare” has served the county and greater Chenango areas since its foundation in 1910.
The hospital was founded after there was a railway accident and there was no hospital to support the local community. Realizing this, the local community raised $150,000 ($3.5 million at present) in 11 days and established a hospital on the corner of Hale Street and South Broad Street. Last year, the hospital helped deliver 201 babies. Only 45% of rural hospitals have maternity care, and UHS Chenango Memorial Hospital is proud to be one of them, especially considering the next delivery facility is in a hospital an hour away.
After the hospital was established, it underwent renovations in 1929, 1958, 1970, and another in 2020. The most recent project is called the Chenango Memorial Hospital Neighborhood Project. Initialized in 2018, phase 1 was completed in the beginning of 2022.
Phase 1 included the relocation and renovation of the emergency room and walk in center. In the year after the renovations, there were more than 8,000 walk in patients and more than 16,000 emergency room visits. The hospital is always replacing and updating equipment to provide an appropriate environment of care for their patients.
Recently, UHS Chenango Memorial Hospital was awarded $20 million from the New York State Department of Health as part of the Statewide Healthcare Facility Transformation Program. This will help the hospital progress on phase 2 of their Chenango Memorial Hospital Neighborhood Project.
Plans for this phase include: a new infusion center, a women’s diagnostic imaging center, a new pre-admission testing center, a new outpatient laboratory, a new specialty care suite, bringing the orthopedic division into the hospital, and more. Each of the phases of this project are estimated at about $26 million, made possible by state grants and fundraising.
Stagnaro claims that it is an exciting time to work at UHS Chenango Memorial Hospital because “we haven’t seen this level of investments or transformations in the past 50 years”. The hospital is looking forward to the next 5 years with stage 2 of their neighborhood project.
“This isn’t just about improving the facility” said Stagnaro. “This is about improving how we take care of our community and enhancing the ability of our staff to do so as well.”
UHS Chenango Memorial Hospital is grateful for the community support they receive, evidenced by the most recent Capital Campaign Fundraiser. This was extremely successful, with the hospital setting a goal of $3 million and ultimately raising more than $6.5 million. Stagnaro said, “The success of the campaign really tells the story of the relationship between the hospital and the community, and the community and the hospital”.
There are two volunteer organizations that have their sole focus on supporting the hospital: The UHS Chenango Memorial Hospital Auxiliary, which has their annual festival of trees fundraiser on Saturday, November 18, 2023, and the Chenango Memorial Hospital Foundation, which is anticipating their annual appeal. Both organizations provide great support to the hospital, and Stagnaro claims that the hospital is lucky to have them. This past summer, the UHS Chenango Memorial Hospital Annual Golf Tournament raised $50,000 for the hospital.
The mission of UHS Chenango Memorial Hospital is service to the community, which has a different meaning in a small town. There is a special connection to community, as most of the care providers are from here and they care for their friends, families, teachers, coworkers, etc. Stagnaro highlighted this: “We know the people who come through our doors. We don’t just provide clinical services; we are deeply rooted in our community.”
UHS Chenango Memorial Hospital is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days of the year. Operating a hospital takes an exceptional caregiving staff, which Stagnaro called the most valuable resource.
Caregivers, by her definition, are the people who care for patients directly, and those who provide indirect support. Like many hospitals, especially in New York State, UHS Chenango Memorial Hospital relies on travelling and contract nurses to care for patients and man emergency rooms.
The hospital is always recruiting staff, which proves to be a challenge at times. They are welcoming new providers (including a Nephrologist Dr. Zaima Choudhry, a kidney specialist) a returning general surgeon Dr. Michael Wingate, a new Family Nurse Practitioner at their Oxford Primary Care location Allison Taratto, a new speech therapist Viera Blazevska and Nurse Practitioner Lorrie Vail now seeing patients in the Norwich Women’s Health location. They are currently offering opportunities in the healthcare field, environmental services, and facilities. If you are interested in joining their team, learn more and apply on their website at www.nyuhs.org
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