Washington, DC – Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Congressman Michael McMahon announced today that both Houses of Congress passed the FY2010 Omnibus Appropriations bill, including $600,000 in federal funds to complete Phase II of Staten Island University Hospital’s (SIUH) Emergency Room Construction Project.
Senator Gillibrand said, “It is critical that we invest in a state-of-the art emergency facility at Staten Island Hospital to help hundreds of thousands of families and children. Federal funding will provide the growing volume of Staten Island patients with the latest technology and quality care. I will continue to work with Representative McMahon to ensure that Staten Island receives its fair share of federal dollars.”
“With only three hospitals serving a population of approximately half a million, I cannot underscore how important this funding is for the people of Staten Island,” said Rep. McMahon. “Staten Island University Hospital provides consistent, quality care to all Staten Islanders, but is currently lacking the and additional technologies necessary to serve the growing number of patients visiting the Emergency Room each year. This funding will be a critical step in making the emergency room at SIUH a state of the art facility for Staten Island families. I am please that Sen. Gillibrand and I were able to secure a combined $600,000 for the project and we look forward to continuing to champion these causes for Staten Islanders.”
“I am grateful to Senator Schumer, Senator Gillibrand and Congressman McMahon for their steadfast support of Staten Island University Hospital in helping make our dream of building the Elizabeth A. Connelly Emergency and Trauma Center a reality for all of Staten Island. Each and every Staten Islander should applaud Michael McMahon for his uncompromising commitment to the healthcare needs of his community,” said Anthony Ferrari, CEO of SIUH.
Staten Island University Hospital’s (SIUH) Emergency Department, a Level 1 Trauma Center, is in dire need of an expansion so that the hospital can continue to effectively serve the over 75,000 patients which seek its services each year. SIUH’s 16,000 square foot Emergency Room was designed for 25,000 visits per year and is inadequate to serve three times that amount. Currently, there are only three emergency rooms on Staten Island for a population of 475,000. The federal funding obtained by Sen. Gillibrand and Rep. McMahon would be used for construction of a new 40,000 square foot state of the art facility that will provide humanistic, technologically-advanced and efficient care in an environment designed to address the wide-range of patient care needs. The facility will include the capacity to assist the victims of terrorist incidents by providing facilities such as a decontamination area.
The House and Senate have each passed their version of the appropriations bill, and today, Senator Gillibrand and Congressman McMahon announced that the U.S. Senate passed the Omnibus Appropriations bill over the weekend. With final passage, the bill now goes to the President to become law.