NEW YORK, NY—Construction is underway on the first major commercial building to join the Brooklyn Cultural District’s development boom, 620 Fulton Street, which will be the home of a health center for New York City hotel workers.
The N.Y Hotel Trades Council & Hotel Association of NYC, Inc. health center will feature an innovative health center layout designed to provide healthcare without the wait. There will be no waiting rooms. Patients will check in at kiosks, or with smartphones, and be assigned examination rooms. Medical teams will share a central workspace. Patients will see all doctors, nurses or staff needed for their care in the same examination room. The goal is for 85% of patients to get medical care and fill their prescriptions in one hour or less. Prescriptions will be filled at an on-site pharmacy equipped with a pharmaceutical robot.
“We should be providing world-class health care to the men and women who make New York a world-class city—and the model created by the Hotel Trades Council and the Hotel Association of NYC does just that,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio, who was on hand for the groundbreaking. “I’m thrilled to help break ground on this sixth center, which will go a long way toward providing New York City families with the healthcare they need and deserve. This sort of collaboration also provides a great model for others. In fact, we’re working with our own municipal unions to ensure a more effective health system, improving patient care and the health of our employees through an unprecedented health savings initiative.”
The funds provide an array of services at a fraction of the cost of private market health insurance.
The 65-year-old health funds, the first in the nation to be run by a union, provides health coverage to 90,000 HTC members, pensioners and dependents and is overseen by a joint labor/management board. Last year, the funds had 744,000 medical encounters, 200,000 dental encounters and 600,000 filled prescriptions. The funds own and operate health and dental centers in Harlem, Midtown, Queens and Brooklyn, as well as an Industry Training Center in Queens. Nearly 1,000 doctors, nurses, counselors, clerks and administrative staff are employed or contracted with in-house to provide these services to our members.
Architecture firm Francis Cauffman designed the building. Skanska is the construction manager. The 12-story building is scheduled for completion in late 2016. It will include 180,000 sq. ft. of healthcare, office and retail space, with an outdoor plaza connecting to other public spaces in the neighborhood. The project replaces a surface parking lot. The healthcare provider serving the city hotel workers union will be the primary occupant, using five floors to house its Brooklyn Health Center. A textured glass façade will curve around the building, and a 12-story mural will cover the south-facing wall.
“Our mission is to be the foremost provider of high-quality healthcare in an environment distinguished by exceptional service. I believe the design of this facility will further our mission by providing a collaborative, patient-centric environment,” said Dr. Robert Greenspan, CEO of the New York Hotel Trades Council & Hotel Association of NYC, Inc. Employee Benefit Funds.
“New York’s hotel workers are proud that our efficient, high-performing healthcare delivery system has become a model of how we can hold down costs while still providing world-class care,” said Hotel Trades Council President Peter Ward. “And, we are thrilled our new state-of-the-art health center will be joining the vibrant Brooklyn cultural district.”