Rome Health breaks ground on surgical addition, public fundraising campaign

Amy Neff Roth, Utica Observer Dispatch
·3 min read

Rome Health broke ground ceremonially on Wednesday on a 30,000 square-foot, three-story addition to house new operating rooms and an intensive care unit.

The groundbreaking ceremony doubled as a kickoff for the public phase of the hospital’s capital campaign to pay for the Kaplan Center for Surgical Services.

“The $45.7 million capital project,” Rome Health President/CEO AnneMarie Czyz said, “will enhance the experience for patients and their families while supporting the care team in delivering the best care out there here.”

Rome Health welcomed donors and community members to its groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday, November 29, 2023. The project involves constructing a 30,000 square-foot, three-floor addition on the north side of the hospital which will replace the building's aging operating rooms and intensive care units.
Rome Health welcomed donors and community members to its groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday, November 29, 2023. The project involves constructing a 30,000 square-foot, three-floor addition on the north side of the hospital which will replace the building's aging operating rooms and intensive care units.

Addition

The addition to the north side of the hospital will include four operating rooms (as well as the renovation of the hospital’s four existing, 57-year-old operating rooms), including robotic surgical systems.

The new, 9-bed ICU will include rooms large enough for all the technology used in a modern ICU; specialty beds to reduce the risk of pressure wounds; extra seating and a sleeper sofa for families; accessible private restrooms in each patient room; specialty rooms for larger patients and for patients with behavioral health disorders; an advanced ventilation system for better infection control; more daylight; and bedside pods for charting.

Rome Health is building an addition to its hospital to be known as the Kaplan Center for Surgical Services, seen here in an artist's rendering. It is expected to be completed in between 24 and 30 months.
Rome Health is building an addition to its hospital to be known as the Kaplan Center for Surgical Services, seen here in an artist's rendering. It is expected to be completed in between 24 and 30 months.

Construction will be completed in phases over the next two to two-and-a-half years, officials said.

Funding

The project has already received most of the needed funding: $26 million from a New York State Transformation grant; $3 million in American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA, funding from the City of Rome; and $14.5 million in donations. The campaign still needs to raise $2 million.

Nearly 200 donors contributed to that $14.5 million, including $5 million from the Kaplan family leading to the surgical center’s name in honor of Charles and Florence Kaplan, Rome Health Foundation Executive Director Chester DiBari III said.

This artist's rendering shows what an intensive care unit room will look like in the Kaplan Center for Surgical Services, an addition being built onto Rome Health Hospital.
This artist's rendering shows what an intensive care unit room will look like in the Kaplan Center for Surgical Services, an addition being built onto Rome Health Hospital.

“Their $5 million gift is the largest donation Rome Health has ever received and continues to inspire others to pledge their support,” he said.

Charles Kaplan said that he wants to help Rome Health grow and evolve just as the Mohawk Valley is doing.

“Rome Health has served an important role in our community for over 100 years,” he said. “I know first-hand how convenient it is for us to have quality care located in our own backyard.”

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To encourage more donors, the Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties has pledged $250,000 once 100 new donors contribute to the campaign.

“The public funding and the diversity of the donors illustrate how much support there is for this project from new donors and long-time friends of the hospital,” DiBari said.  “The cause has appealed to individual donors, corporations and foundations.

Rome Health welcomed donors and community members to its groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday, November 29, 2023. The project involves constructing a 30,000 square-foot, three-floor addition on the north side of the hospital which will replace the building's aging operating rooms and intensive care units.
Rome Health welcomed donors and community members to its groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday, November 29, 2023. The project involves constructing a 30,000 square-foot, three-floor addition on the north side of the hospital which will replace the building's aging operating rooms and intensive care units.

“We’re proud to have even received gifts from former Romans who have contributed in honor of their roots to give back to the community.”

Information on the campaign can be found at here.

This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Rome Health building new ORs, ICU with capital campaign