St. Peter’s Hospital Dedicates “The Hearst Pavilion” and Celebrates End of $35.5 Million Capital Campaign

St. Peter’s Hospital tonight named its newest, state-of-the-art, six-story patient care facility “The Hearst Pavilion.”

The name for the building was unveiled this evening at a reception that also celebrated the end of the hospital’s $35 million Cornerstone Campaign. The capital campaign surpassed its goal by more than $500,000, raising a total of more than $35.5 million.

The reception, held across South Manning Boulevard from St. Peter’s Hospital and The Hearst Pavilion, was attended by donors, community leaders, state and local officials, and officials of St. Peter’s Hospital and St. Peter’s Health Partners (SPHP).

George R. Hearst III, publisher and CEO of the Times Union, was chairman of the St. Peter’s Hospital Foundation’s Cornerstone Campaign. Hearst is also a member of the board of St. Peter’s Health Partners and chairman of the SPHP board finance committee.

The Hearst Pavilion was named to honor the collective generosity and support of The William Randolph Hearst Foundations and The Hearst Foundations Challenge Grant. It also acknowledges additional support from the Times Union, the leadership of George Hearst as the chair of The Cornerstone Campaign, as well as George and Christine Hearst’s personal support. This collective support made up gift commitments and inspired gift commitments totaling $6.6 million.

“Through the completion of this project, the campus of St. Peter’s Hospital is more efficient, more effective, and more attractive,” George Hearst said. Hearst added, “By adding these extensive new patient care facilities and modernizing the institution’s vast infrastructure, St. Peter’s Hospital has been able to provide an even higher level of patient care, as well as an enhanced experience for patients and their families, visitors, physicians and employees.”

Thomas R. Tyrrell, chairman of St. Peter’s Hospital Foundation board, announced the naming of The Hearst Pavilion and led officials in a dramatic unveiling of new signage on the outside of the building just below the pavilion’s sixth floor.

“The prominent naming of this building not only represents the outstanding generosity of the Hearst family, and the many gifts that were inspired as a direct result of their philanthropic commitment, but it also represents the leadership of George R. Hearst III, as chairman of The Cornerstone Campaign, the largest campaign in the hospital’s history,” Tyrrell said.

In addition to Hearst and Tyrrell, others participating in or honored at the reception included: Ann Errichetti, M.D., M.B.A., chief executive officer of St. Peter’s Hospital; Alison Yu, program officer of the Hearst Foundations; Sr. Katherine Graber, RSM, major gifts officer, St. Peter’s Hospital Foundation; former Albany Mayor Gerald D. Jennings; James K. Reed, M.D., president and CEO of St. Peter’s Health Partners; Steven P. Boyle, former CEO of St. Peter’s Health Partners, and former CEO of St. Peter’s Hospital; Reverend Kenneth Doyle, Chancellor, Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany; Peter Semenza, vice president for Philanthropy, St. Peter’s Health Partners; and Shannon Galuski, executive director, St. Peter’s Hospital Foundation.

Sr. Katherine Graber presented former Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings with the St. Peter’s Hospital Foundation’s Catherine McAuley Award. The award is named for the foundress of the Religious Sisters of Mercy. The Sisters of Mercy opened St. Peter’s Hospital in 1869.

Tuesday evening’s reception also marked the official end of the $258.7 million campus modernization project that combined the highest quality of care with access, convenience, comfort and cost-efficiency. The six-story Hearst Pavilion, first opened in 2011, is the centerpiece of the campus modernization project that also included a 1,500-car parking garage; and some of the region’s most advanced facilities for cardiovascular, cancer, maternity and surgical services.

Ann Errichetti, M.D., M.B.A., chief executive officer of St. Peter’s Hospital, who joined St. Peter’s Hospital in 2012 near the end of the campus renovation project, said, “I have been the beneficiary of this beautiful facility. Not just the newest addition – The Hearst Pavilion – but the entire campus. This effort transformed St. Peter’s Hospital into one of the most state-of-the-art clinical facilities in upstate New York.”

Dr. Errichetti also noted, “It also gave us patient-, visitor-, and staff-friendly amenities like ample parking, and easier access and way-finding. In short, it gave us a facility with the healing atmosphere, amenities and services that would match the incredible spirit of our staff. I don’t know what working in the ‘old’ St. Peter’s was like, but I couldn’t be more impressed with the ‘new’ St. Peter’s Hospital.”

This summer, the St. Peter’s Hospital Joint Replacement Center will open, located on the sixth floor of the Hearst Pavilion. The new Joint Replacement Center will provide a unique hospital experience, one that promotes wellness and helps patients recover from joint replacement surgery on a dedicated unit. St. Peter’s performs more joint replacement surgeries than any other facility in upstate New York.

By adding, replacing or renovating some 600,000 square feet of space, the project permitted St. Peter’s to consolidate services, employ new information technology, use state-of-the-art facilities and increase patient privacy. As the third major expansion in St. Peter’s nearly 145-year history, it was one of the largest private construction projects ever in the Capital Region.

The decade-long $258.7 million project was financed through St. Peter’s Hospital’s operating budget, traditional financing, and the $35.5 million in donations from more than 1,400 individuals and organizations.

BBL Construction Services built the facilities, under the overall project management of Central Consulting, Inc. The highlights include:

• 1,500 parking spaces in the new Main Parking Garage, connected to the hospital with a covered, climate-controlled pedestrian bridge – a gift from Trustco Bank and the McCormick family.
• The sweeping, two-story Massry Family Atrium with its 116-foot long skylight and access to Main Street, a friendly, convenient gateway to all hospital services and programs. Main Street was supported with a gift from the Dake family and Stewart’s Shops.
• New cardiac and vascular surgery facilities – among the nation’s most advanced for surgery and post-surgical care – allowing cardiologists and surgeons to work side-by-side performing today’s most complex procedures for heart and vascular care.
• The Hearst Family Center with five-star amenities and the region’s most advanced maternity services.

While the total number of beds at St. Peter’s Hospital remains at 442, The Hearst Pavilion has made it possible to increase the percentage of private rooms to more than 60 percent, from the previous 10 percent.