NYU Langone Looks to Expand to Lower East Side

According+to+the+Brooklyn+Eagle%2C+NYU+Langone+Medical+Center+is+continuing+its+expansion+efforts+by+adding+a+site+in+Bay+Ridge.+So%2C+the+Brooklyn+community+will+have+more+access+to+medical+care.

Adriana Tapia

According to the Brooklyn Eagle, NYU Langone Medical Center is continuing its expansion efforts by adding a site in Bay Ridge. So, the Brooklyn community will have more access to medical care.

Geomari Martinez, Contributing Writer

Delancey Street could very well become the home of NYU Langone’s newest outpatient facility, according to Crain’s New York.

The proposed $32.9 million project is currently pending approval by the New York State Department of Health, according to the Bowery Boogie. If given the green light, construction will begin at 175 Delancey St. within a multi-use building in the Essex Crossing development plot, providing the health services and resources the area needs.

According to the project’s certificate-of-need application, the prospective 55,000 square-foot ambulatory center is being built to alleviate crowding issues within its orthopedic care institutes.

Silver freshman Goldie Raznick, who was recently treated at NYU Langone’s main hospital this past week, attested to the hospital’s space limitations via email.

“As wonderful as many of the doctors and nurses were, it really seemed like they were overwhelmed by the lack of space compared to how many people they have to treat, and I think that influenced their ability to provide myself and others with comfortable care,” Raznick said. “I’m not sure if they always have so little space or if it was just because of construction, but the environment just felt very stressful and hectic — more so than a hospital ought to, anyways.”

Rory Meyers College of Nursing sophomore Shizuku Yoshieda also noticed extremely long wait times during an emergency hospital visit to NYU Langone her freshman year. However, she said that she was immediately accepted to an emergency room, and she believes it was because she was from NYU.

“I was in the bed — nurses were taking all the vitals,” Yoshieda said. “But I saw many people waiting in the emergency waiting room and I felt like that was kind of weird. And after, people came in and out, but overall I had to wait two hours for things to get done until I got released.”

The application — which can be found on New York’s Department of Health website — states that last year, 3,500 out of the center’s 6,170 ambulatory surgery cases were not critical and could have been dealt with at a center like the one being proposed. Moreover, nearly 10,000 physical therapy patients were from the lower Manhattan area.

According to the state’s Department of Health website, architecturally, the NYU Langone Ambulatory Care Center will be housed by the lower levels of the anticipated building, with the cellar floors dedicated to emergency operating rooms and recovery cubicles, the ground floor to physical therapy and the second floor to administrative offices.

Gail Chorney, assistant professor in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery and medical director of ambulatory care services at NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases, said the new facility will especially emphasize women’s sports medicine.

“The Orthopedic Department is recruiting new physicians with a special interest in the female athlete,” Chorney said via email.

She also said that more services will be considered based on the fluctuating demographics of the neighborhood. According to Chorney, the tentative opening date is May 2018. Students are hoping the benefits of the new expansion push its timeline.

“I’m very in favor of NYU Langone expanding its medical services to the Lower East Side,” Raznick said. “The ER shouldn’t be forced to have patients on stretchers in the hallway or patients getting vitals taken in a public lobby, both of which I have experienced during my time there.”

However, while Yoshieda also believes the expansion is beneficial because NYU Langone will receive more recognition and medical students will have more opportunities for internships and clinical research, she said she has some concerns.

“It sounds great, but my only concern is that because NYU Langone— going there — is really expensive, [and] if Langone becomes like the majority of healthcare provided in New York, then I feel like that’s going to increase the health disparity because poor people cannot get all this health care,” Yoshieda said. “And other hospitals right now — hospitals open in the city — might get pushed away.”

Email GiGi Martinez at [email protected].