Phelps Celebrates 50 Years

Phelps Memorial Hospital Center: Full of Vim and Vigor and 50 Years Young

February 15, 2005

Sleepy Hollow, NY (February 15, 2005) — Since its founding 50 years ago, Phelps Memorial Hospital Center has delivered top quality healthcare to citizens throughout Westchester County, allowing it to live up to the vision that the late John D. Rockefeller, III, and others had when they created it 50 years ago by merging Tarrytown and Ossining Hospitals.

A challenge grant from the Rockefeller Foundation coupled with the gift of land and money from the James Foundation was instrumental in the hospital’s building process.

The founders would be proud of the hospital’s growth and financial stability. Given that sixteen years ago things were pretty bleak and the hospital’s future looked anything but promising, its present accomplishments are exceptional. Phelps was badly hemorrhaging, losing two and a half million and four million dollars in 1987 and 1988, respectively. In an effort to save the hospital and reverse the decline, the Board of Directors decided to hire a new president and CEO. Since the current President and CEO, Keith Safian, arrived in 1989, Phelps has remained profitable. Its operating budget for 2004 was $124,815,000, with an $8,426,000 surplus. These results are particularly noteworthy as better than half the hospitals in New York State have been losing money and in Westchester County two hospitals closed due to poor financial performance.

In the area of customer service, one of the hottest areas in healthcare today, Phelps is more than holding its own. In two surveys conducted by the National Research Corporation the hospital continues to score in the top percentile. Fourth quarter 2004 ratings for inpatient satisfaction demonstrates significant improvements in three out of four categories. In its 2003 Employee Survey Phelps scored better than the national average in virtually every category and has shown consistent improvements in every dimension measured. The hospital’s employee turnover rate is substantially lower than the regional average.

True to its mission of turning surpluses into improvements in patient care, the hospital expects to spend $60 million in capital improvement over the next five years. Its expansion plans have received approval from the Village of Sleepy Hollow and the Town of Mount Pleasant Planning Boards. Phase one, which will begin this year, will provide a fifty percent increase in the hospital’s parking capacity; followed by construction of a five-story, 100,000 square foot, Medical Services Building, its second, which will house an emergency training center, outpatient physical rehab services, the Phelps Wound Healing Institute, a hyperbaric oxygen unit, the Donald R. Reed Speech & Hearing Center, and physicians’ offices. Phases three and four will see the south wing grow by 2,400 square feet and the building of a new state-of-the-art Emergency Department – three times larger than the present ED, at 22,000 square feet, it will house 31 private rooms.

Recounting the search for a new chief executive in 1989, Irvington’s Fred Herlitz, who was chairman of the Board of Directors at the time, said “There were approximately 40 applicants, but we wanted the new administrator to be strong on the financial side and be able to develop a business model that would make the kind of changes that would not just stop the bleeding, but would allow the hospital to thrive. The one thing that differentiated Keith from the other applicants was that he had an MBA from the Wharton School of The University of Pennsylvania. Things immediately began to change and improve as soon a Keith took the helm.”

Croton-on-Hudson’s David Coulam, currently Assistant Treasurer of the Board of Directors, noted that Safian masterminded a turnaround. “He accomplished what he did by working harder than many would do, or want to do; by pushing the organization along and by challenging and sometimes upsetting others.”

What does Safian say about the success of the hospital? “I was fortunate. Phelps had, and continues to have a caring and accomplished medical and healthcare staff, an excellent board, and wonderful, committed community support -- all ingredients needed to run a successful hospital. I am tremendously pleased to be part of a team that is able to accomplish so much for the benefit of the hospital and the community.”

Phelps 50th Anniversary (1955 - 2005)

In 1955, two local hospitals - The Tarrytown Hospital and Ossining Hospital merged to create Phelps Memorial Hospital. Support for the new community hospital was provided by the Rockefeller Family, which matched contributions from members of the community. The James Foundation also helped fund the hospital and donated 64 acres of land. Arthur Curtis James was the nephew of Anson G. Phelps, II, who lived on the property in the late 1800s when he named the estate "Phelps Place."

Tarrytown Hospital (founded 1890)	Ossining Hospital (founded 1886)

Tarrytown Hospital	The "Contagiuos Pavilion"







New Ambulance 1950	Construction - 1954



"Opening Day" January 7. 1956

The growth of the hospital during its first half century, and particularly over the past fifteen years, has been significant. Originally housing 188 beds, today Phelps has 235. Its medical staff is the largest it has ever been, with 450 physicians representing 34 clinical specialties. Even the hospital's Hudson River campus has grown - from 64 to 69 acres. Fifteen years ago, the hospital's operating revenue was $40 million; in 2004 it reached a record level of $125 million.

A Chronicle of Phelps Memorial Hospital Center

1950s

1952 Ossining Hospital and Tarrytown Hospital were merged, and the Phelps Memorial Hospital Association was formed.
1955 The Phelps Auxiliary was formed.
1956 January 7: Opening Day. Phelps had 188 beds and 27 bassinets.
1956 January 10. The first inpatient was admitted
1958 The Phelps School of Practical Nursing opened.

1960s

1962 Expansion of the South wing added 60 beds and increased the size of the Emergency Department
1964 The Intensive Care Unit opened on 3-North.
1965 The Pulmonary Function Lab opened.
1966 The Physical Therapy service was enlarged.
1969 The Ossining branch of the Mental Health Center opened.
1969 First total hip replacement in Westchester County was performed by George Burak, MD.

1970s

1972 The Tarrytown branch of the Mental Health Center opened.
1972 2-Center was renovated.
1974 The Mental Health Center Rehabilitation Unit in Ossining opened.
1974 The new West Wing was dedicated in October.
1975 The 19-bed inpatient Psychiatric Unit opened.
1976 A 4-bed Rehabilitative Medicine Unit was established on 3-South.
1976 The first intraocular lens implant at Phelps.
1977 The new Intensive Care/Cardiac Care Unit opened on 5-Center.
1977 The Heart Club formed - the first self-help group for cardiac patients and their families in Westchester County.
1978 The last class graduated from the Phelps School of Practical Nursing.
In all, 663 nurses had been graduated since the school opened in 1958.
1979 The New York State Recovery Room Nurses Association was founded by Phelps nurses.

1980s

1980 Air conditioning was installed.
1981 Phelps Memorial Hospital became Phelps Memorial Hospital Center.
1982 First arthroscopic surgery on a knee.
1982 Endoscopy, Retinal Diagnostic Laser Surgery, and Cystoscopy Units opened.
1983 Phelps Hospice was established.
1983 The Ambulatory Surgery Unit opened.
1984 Phelps Community Corporation was founded.
1984 The Cardiac Pulmonary Resuscitation Center opened.
1984 Better Breathers' program started, a self-help program for people with COPD.
1984 Phelps Threshold, an alcoholism treatment service, opened at 35 Beekman Avenue.
1986 The Gerontology Unit opened.
1986 The Pre-Hospital Training Center was established.
1986 New lobby.
1987 Robin's Nest Child Care Center opened.
1987 2-North was renovated and opened as a surgical patient care unit.
1988 2-South was designated as an Oncology Unit.
1988 A cell saver was used in the OR for the first time.

1990s

1990 Laser was added to General Surgery
1990 The first laparoscopic gall bladder removal.
1991 4-Center Birthing Suites were renovated.
1991 The Lactation Center opened.
1992 First total shoulder replacement.
1992 PromptCare was expanded.
1993 Phelps became Westchester's first clinical affiliate of The Mount Sinai Hospital.
1995 New Outpatient Physical Therapy Unit opened.
1996 New MRI building was constructed.
1996 The Professional Office Building at 777 North Broadway was completed.
1996 Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center established its satellite location at Phelps
to serve residents of Westchester, Putnam, and Rockland Counties.
1997 Phelps became a member of the HealthStar Network,
joining Northern Westchester Hospital, Lawrence Hospital, and White Plains Hospital Center.
1998 Phelps brought "Heads Up" helmet safety to the community.
1999 The orthopedic operating suite was renovated.
1999 Phelps was first in Westchester to offer Endoscopic Ultrasound.
1999 The Donald R. Reed Speech & Hearing Center was formally integrated into the Hospital.

2000s

2000 Phelps Chapel was dedicated.
2000 The Macular Degeneration Treatment Center opened.
2000 The Wound Healing Institute was established.
2000 Phelps began providing newborn hearing screenings.
2000 The Telemetry Unit and Intermediate Care Unit on 5-South was renovated.
2001 Phelps began construction of a free-standing decontamination unit.
2001 Al Roker's knee surgery at Phelps was chronicled on The Today Show.
2002 The Pappas Surgical Pavilion was dedicated.
2002 The Thomas E. and Alice M. Hales Endoscopy Unit opened.
2002 An angiography system with 3-D reconstruction was installed in the Radiology Department.
2002 Hospice began offering complementary therapies to patients.
2002 Phelps initiated a Hepatitis B Vaccination Program for newborns.
2002 Phelps partnered with the Ossining School District to start "First Steps to Literacy."
2002 New heating and cooling systems were installed.
2003 The Arnold Salop, MD Critical Care Unit opened with 12 private rooms.
2003 Radiology installed the GE LightSpeed Ultra 16 CT Scanner.
2003 The Pediatric Diabetes and Endocrine Center was established at Phelps.
2004 New Services in 2004: CardioVascular Risk Assessment Center, The IV Infusion Center,
The Institute for Voice & Swallowing Disorders, and an expanded Sleep Center.
2004 Parking was expanded along the Route 117 entry.
2005 Kendal on Hudson opened.

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