New Day Dawns For PBMC Health

Once called Central Suffolk Hospital, then Peconic Bay Medical Center, the Riverhead hospital has a new "brand" name and logo -- PBMC Health.

And with the new moniker, positive growth toward ensuring and improving community health continue, said Andrew Mitchell, FACHE, President and CEO of PMBC Health and Peconic Bay Medical Center.

The organization will serve as an umbrella, encompassing the many pieces of growth the community has seen at the facility over the past decade, Mitchell said, including the Kanas Center for Advanced Surgery, a skilled nursing and rehabilitation center, a new surgical and orthopedic floor, a home care program, and a burgeoning graduate medical program where the doctors of tomorrow are embarking on residencies.

At a press conference on Wednesday, Mitchell unveiled a new sign and brand logo and discussed a the Campus for Advanced Ambulatory and Preventive Care, to be located in Manorville.

Also introduced was the new "iCare" logo, with initials that stand for compassion, accountability, respect and excellence.

Explaining the reasoning behind the re-branding, Mitchell said. "There is something known as the gestalt theory that says, the sum is greater than the individual parts -- and that is absolutely the case here. All these parts co-exist and work collaboratively for one purpose, to improve the health of our communities."

The new campus, which will be located off Exit 70 on the Long Island Expressway, will encompass 25,000 square feet of medical and ambulatory care offices in three to four new buildings. Developed by Parkridge Development, the complex will also include a CVA and several retail stores.

The cost to rent the parcel will be approximately $1 million a year, Mitchell said.

The first PMBC Heatlh building, slated to open in the first quarter of 2013, will include a primary/family care office, an ob/gyn practice, pediatrics and an urgent care center. The second building, currently in design, will include a center for digestive diseases, urology service and general surgery. Plans for the remaining buildings inlcude a Harvard University-Joslin Diabetes Care Center.

"We will build a model one-stop shopping center for health care services," Mitchell said.

According to Mitchell, Consumer Reports rated PBMC the top third hospital in New York State this week -- an achievement accomplished because of teamwork.

Major strides have been made across the board, including an interpreter, Jessica Ruiz, a PBMC medical interpreter who translates for limited English speaking patients. "The fear of coming to the hospital and not being understood is no longer a problem," Ruiz said.

In additon, the medication administration check system has "dramatically" reduced errors and improved treatment quality, Mitchell said.

PBMC continues making medical strides in minimally invasive da Vinci robotic surgery with a new board certified urologist, Dr. Jennifer Hill, onboard, Mitchell said.

The new Manorville campus, Mitchell said, could become as busy as the emergency center at PBMC, with up to 35,000 visits per year; the new center could allow the facility to move some of its services to Manorville, where parking and access are more readily available. 

And the new campus will provide services to Manorville, where, currently there are no physicians' offices. The new facility will have emergency power, in the event of a hurricane or other emergency situation.

"We're not just a community hospital anymore," said Sherry Patterson, PBMC board chair.