Eastman Cooke Construction sees a rise in ambulatory surgery centers in New York - by Kelly Kass

Kelly Kass, Marketing Works PR

Walk down a NYC street and you’ll likely encounter an outpatient care facility. Hospitals like NYU Langone and Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) are among many swept up in this growing trend, which enables healthcare providers to expand their geographical reach and enhance their range of services.

With specialized facilities on the rise, construction companies are also experiencing the boom as providers move away from the hospital campus. Eastman Cooke Construction, a leading N.Y.-based general contracting and construction management firm, has been accompanying clients on the journey for the last few years. After completing multiple projects across Long Island and NYC, the firm is currently building two ambulatory surgery centers in Manhattan, with another planned for Queens next year. 

“We’re seeing expansion and consolidation that helps healthcare providers become more competitive while delivering services that are more convenient and comfortable for patients,” said Peter Morandi, CEO, Eastman Cooke. An ambulatory surgery center building calls for a specific type of project development and construction management– one that Morandi and his team fulfill on a regular basis.

“What we bring to the table is an understanding of the infrastructure upgrades and the surgery center build-out to ensure all required codes issued by the department of health and the department of buildings are met,” Morandi said. This entails weeks of intense coordination to make sure the design and engineering meet the necessary requirements for the practice and for the governing codes.

“Our best successes come when we align with clients during the schematic phase of the building design,” Morandi said. The collaborative approach between Eastman Cooke and the design team makes the project delivery seamless.

Morandi and his team are currently working with a leading medical group to construct a 45,000 s/f ambulatory surgery center on West 51^st St. in Manhattan, complete with four operating rooms, an expansive recovery area, doctor’s offices and a highly detailed reception area. Construction on the seven-level facility began in Spring 2016, repurposing the building (a former storage facility) with new utility services, three new elevators, extensive structural enhancements and a new three-level mechanical penthouse.

NYU Langone Medical Center.

“We completely stripped the interior down to the raw structure of the building,” Morandi said. “Whereas hospitals often tap into existing systems for their infrastructure, we worked from scratch.” The core and shell renovation involved heavy structural steel and concrete work, new window installations and the restoration of building exteriors. 

“We like to think of these kinds of projects as two projects in one – prepare the infrastructure of the building, then install all the components for a fully functioning surgery center,” Morandi said. 

He and his team work closely with Regent Medical, NYU Langone, Hospital for Special Surgery and other clients to build the best facility possible for doctors and patients. “These centers want to attract the top surgeons and patients, so our healthcare clients look to us to construct a facility that provides optimum conditions in every facility. Having the best centers drive successful patient outcomes,” Morandi said.

“Not too many years ago, hospital and medical practices weren’t doing these types of projects off-campus. Now ambulatory surgery centers and other medical-related projects make up the majority of our life science portfolio,” Morandi said. 

NYU Langone Medical Center.

With continued changes stemming from state and federal healthcare reform, Morandi expects to see an even bigger rise in outpatient centers, a win-win for both providers and patients. “Surgery doesn’t have to be disruptive like it used to be. These facilities truly fit the fast-paced lifestyle of New York City,” Morandi said

Eastman Cooke is a leading, full-service general contracting and construction firm based in NYC.  Eastman Cooke’s commitment to exceptional service has been meeting the needs of clients across all sectors since 2009. Frequent projects include ground-up construction and renovations of large office buildings, corporate interiors, retail stores, schools, hospitals, laboratories, nonprofit facilities and more.

Kelly Kass is a senior writer at Marketing Works PR, East Setauket, N.Y.