The Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for Mohawk Valley Health Systems joined the Keeler in the Morning Show to answer some of the most asked questions regarding the proposed new hospital in downtown Utica.

Robert Scholefield says the plan to build the hospital downtown is a go. That is the site the hospital board has decided on, however, later in the show acknowledged it was not 'set in stone', says property assessments, environmental impact studies, and the hospital design process has yet to be completed.

The cost?

The most recent estimate put the price tag at $480 million, Scholefield says, which includes the $300 million in state funding promised by Governor Cuomo.

How big?

The new hospital would have 400 patient beds, all of which would be individual rooms, he says. Some of the bed shortage issues faced by MVHS's St Elizabeth's  and St Luke's campuses are due in part to have rooms that are designed to hold more than one patient. In some cases, a patient's care requirement doesn't allow for other patients to be in the room with them.

Why downtown?

Scholefield says other locations for the new hospital were considered, including the existing St Luke's campus, and the old psych center in West Utica. During the interview he explained the concerns centering around each site.

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