Newsmakers—SUNY Upstate dedicates vertical expansion

SYRACUSE, N.Y.—More than 200 people gather as SUNY Upstate Medical University Oct. 18 for the site dedication ceremony for University Hospital’s vertical expansion project, which features the Golisano Children’s Hospital.

The vertical expansion is SUNY Upstate’s-and one of Central New York’s-most ambitious construction projects since opening University Hospital in 1965. The six-story vertical expansion will rise above University Hospital’s East Wing and feature floors dedicated to oncology, cardiology and neurology services and the Golisano Children’s Hospital. One floor will be used to house heating, air conditioning and other technical systems.

University officials were joined by area federal, state and local lawmakers who lauded SUNY Upstate for its commitment to children and making a children’s hospital a reality for Central New York

A community fundraising campaign to help build the Golisano Children’s Hospital raised more than $21 million dollars, including a $6 million contribution from B. Thomas Golisano of Pittsford, N.Y. Bristol-Myers Squibb provided the campaign’s largest corporate gift, a $1 million donation to name the children’s hospital’s unique tree house lobby.

Site preparation for the project is under way, with project completion set for 2009.

Mary Ann Shaw, chair of the Children's Hospital Campaign, speaks at the Vertical Expansion Dedication Ceremony, Looking on our SUNY Upstate President David R. Smith, M.D., and Phillip S. Schaengold, JD, MBA, chief executive officer and senior vice president for hospital affairs.

SUNY Upstate President David R. Smith, M.D. (left), checks notes for the Vertical Expansion Site Dedication with Phillip S. Schaengold, JD, MBA, chief executive officer and senior vice president for hospital affairs.

SUNY Upstate President David R. Smith, MD, with some of the children's hospital's youngest supporters.