Hospital officials said without the donation the renovation probably could not have moved forward.
Kimberly Hyde of Cayuga holds her newborn baby Trentyn Hyde with dad at left Tyler Walczyk in their room on the maternity ward at Auburn Memorial Stardust Foundation of Central New York delivered a big boost today to Auburn Memorial Hospital’s $2.4 million renovation of its aged maternity ward.
The foundation announced that it is giving $1 million for the project.
“We believe a maternity ward is a fundamental piece of any community hospital … and a critical piece of the overall future of the hospital,’’ Stardust Executive Director Guy Cosentino said before the announcement.
Hospital officials said the money would be put to good work and that without the donation the renovation probably could not have moved forward.
“We knew what we wanted to do but we didn’t know how we were going to be able to do it financially,’’ said Roz McCormick, the hospital’s chief operating officer.
The hospital plans to rebuild the maternity ward, whose future was up in the air four years ago when a state commission recommended that it be closed.
The facility – with community support -- averted that recommendation and now plans to build four birthing rooms and seven post-partum rooms – all of which will be furnished with flat-screen televisions. Plans also call for adding two waiting/reception rooms for visitors, a labor delivery recovery room and two nurseries to be part of the new 6,600-square-foot maternity ward.
The impending renovation continues the hospital’s recovery from three years ago when it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The hospital reported losing $25.6 million from 2001 to April 2007 but has since made about $10 million in profits, including a record $4.2 million last year.
Stardust’s $1 million donation comes with a couple strings attached, Cosentino said. First, staff doctors must contribute $250,000 and the hospital must raise $250,000 in community donations but cannot ask for money from the community’s five major philanthropic organizations, Cosentino said.
That dovetails with Stardust’s philosophy of giving a “hand-up rather than a hand-out’’ to what it considers to be worthy community investments, according to Jack Bisgrove, president of the foundation’s board of directors.
“It’s not about what we give. It’s about are we helping them become more successful,’’ said Bisgrove. His brother Jerry, an Arizona businessman and philanthropist, founded the foundation and has pledged to donate $15 million into the Auburn area.
McCormick said Stardust’s donation would help the hospital continue its economic recovery.
“This is the next step toward sustainability….This will carry us through the next decades,’’ she added.
You can reach Scott Rapp at srapp@syracuse.com or 289-4839