St. James Hospital expanding medical office building, enhancing primary care in Hornell
St. James Hospital is expanding its Seneca Road North footprint and enhancing its primary care services.
A construction project retrofitting a vacant 3,500-square-foot space in Suite 101 of the medical office building adjacent to the Hornell hospital will begin later this month, the St. James Board of Directors said Wednesday.
When complete, the suite will hold three additional primary care providers and act as an extension of UR Medicine Primary Care Suite 109.
St. James is adding two internal medicine providers, Eric Tharmathurai, MD, and Julie van Baardwijk, MD. Both will start in July.
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“Our successful recruitment of Dr. Tharmathurai and Dr. van Baardwijk has been the catalyst for this expansion,” said Wendy Disbrow, St. James Hospital president and CEO.
Disbrow said the hospital has a "responsibility" to its service community to provide increased access to essential care and regular screening for diseases, adding, "We know there will be some local providers retiring in the future. We want to be prepared to continue providing excellent primary care in our area. "
Disbrow said the hospital expects to have an advanced practice provider in the suite as well.
When new providers will see patients
Tharmathurai and van Baardwijk will see patients in UR Medicine Primary Care, Suite 109, until the opening of Suite 101 in early fall, the hospital said.
"The Primary Care Expansion at St. James Medical Office Building goes a long way to fill one of the most glaring needs locally, access to primary care physicians,” said Shawn Hogan, chair of the hospital board. “I am so proud and honored to be a part of an organization that continually strives to provide the best possible health care for our region.”
The hospital board awarded construction rights for the project to FSI Construction, the owners of the Medical Office Building. The project is being financed by St. James.
The medical office building opened in December 2018 at the site of the former Kmart Plaza. Opening of the 87,300-square-foot hospital on the medical campus at 7329 Seneca Road North in Hornellsville took place in March 2020. A connector building between the two opened in 2022.
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This article originally appeared on The Evening Tribune: St. James Hospital expanding, adding providers: What to know
