{"id":36434,"date":"2023-06-17T19:09:04","date_gmt":"2023-06-17T23:09:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/?p=36434"},"modified":"2023-06-17T19:09:04","modified_gmt":"2023-06-17T23:09:04","slug":"glens-falls-hospital-ceo-says-hospital-and-community-have-seen-drastic-changes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2023\/06\/glens-falls-hospital-ceo-says-hospital-and-community-have-seen-drastic-changes\/","title":{"rendered":"Glens Falls Hospital CEO Says Hospital And Community Have Seen \u2018Drastic Changes\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Paul Scimeca is the president and CEO of Glens Falls Hospital.
Courtesy Glens Falls Hospital<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Susan Elise Campbell<\/p>\n

Over his 33-year career at Glens Falls Hospital, Paul Scimeca, president and CEO since January 2022, has seen dramatic changes, both at the hospital and in the community.<\/p>\n

These changes are shifting more of the hospital\u2019s attention to the needs of seniors and to behavioral transformations among the population in general, according to Scimeca.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe community we are privileged to care for is aging,\u201d he said. \u201cAs people grow older and live longer, we need to focus on chronic disease in a way that continues to evolve with the population and mirrors the needs of the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Within the past three years Glens Falls Hospital developed a state-designated Center of Excellence for Alzheimers Disease and received certification for its Stroke Center, he said. The demand for these health services follows the population curve.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe C.R. Wood Cancer Center is one of the first projects I worked on when I came to the Hospital more than 30 years ago,\u201d he said. \u201cThe center continues to grow as it becomes more successful in identifying, treating and helping individuals of all ages survive cancer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chronic decease and mental health services are of equal priority to the hospital and are equally challenging, according to Scimeca.<\/p>\n

\u201cEmergency care has changed significantly over the years,\u201d said Scimeca. \u201cSome conditions have to be treated immediately, so care starts right in the emergency department.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the current priorities, and a personal priority for Scimeca as well, is to renovate and expand the emergency department, since \u201cit was not built for the kind of care that must be delivered today,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe facility is currently constrained functionally by the design of the department,\u201d Scimeca said. \u201cThe hospital is at the beginning stages of planning for both a slight expansion and a full renovation.\u201d \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong>Along with that, and related to it according to Scimeca, is a plan to grow the behavior health crisis unit at Glens Falls Hospital.<\/p>\n

Scimeca said the Hospital is experiencing a greater need for behavior health services among the general population and that those needs have become more pronounced, especially because of the pandemic. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat unit is full almost every day with adults and adolescents who need crisis care,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen the mental health unit is full, patients expand into the emergency department and that takes up space for other patients seeking crisis care.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are figuring out the pieces, but most likely there would be a small expansion adjacent to the hospital to increase our capacity,\u201d he said. \u201cSoon we will apply to the state Department of Health for approval on this project.\u201d<\/p>\n

The full project would likely begin next year, he said, and the hospital has been working collaboratively with other mental health providers to simultaneously expand services throughout the region.<\/p>\n

Speaking to the public perception of the hospital, Scimeca said, \u201cWe have a reputation for being here when people need us and sometimes don\u2019t know where to turn. Certainly people have come to rely upon us for cancer care.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe C.R. Wood Cancer Center not only offers comprehensive care and education, but also allows people to participate in clinical trials right here in their own community,\u201d said Scimeca.<\/p>\n

He said he is \u201cproud of what the hospital has been able to achieve. Not every hospital can do clinical trials.\u201d<\/p>\n

Glens Falls Hospital has been working in conjunction with University of Vermont in Burlington but within a year hopes to be recognized as a separate main site for cancer trials, according to Scimeca. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBecause of the breadth and comprehensiveness of our program, we can enroll people to access the trial here without the need for travel or inconvenience,\u201d he said. \u201cWe will not need to be a sub-site of another organization.\u201d<\/p>\n

Once achieved, the hospital will be able to \u201cexpand the number of trials and bring more comprehensive care closer to the community, which is our goal,\u201d said Scimeca.<\/p>\n

Like most health care providers in the country, Glens Falls Hospital is facing staffing challenges.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough there are many openings we are recruiting for, we are fortunate to have a dedicated staff that allows us to meet the needs of our patients, which fluctuates seasonally with the tourist population,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Scimeca said some professionals considering retirement postponed until the end of the pandemic because \u201cthey wanted to do what they can to help the community and be part of the team helping their friends and neighbors.\u201d<\/p>\n

But even separate from and before the issue of the pandemic, Scimeca said there was not enough growth among new staff to replace those who would be retiring.<\/p>\n

The hospital has programs including a nurse residency program that takes graduate nurses right out of training and helps them continue in their specialty areas, Scimeca said.<\/p>\n

\u201cGenerations continue to look to us for their work,\u201d he said. \u201cGlens Falls Hospital is the largest employer in the area by three-fold and we take that responsibility very seriously. The health of the hospital is tied to the health of the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scimeca said that the hospital\u2019s 2020 affiliation with Albany Medical Center \u201chas been a dream\u201d because it allows them to \u201cbetter coordinate patient care and to bring physicians and allied health care providers to augment the staff in Glens Falls.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a culture at the hospital similar to the culture of the region, which is that we are good stewards of the community and we get things done,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Susan Elise Campbell Over his 33-year career at Glens Falls Hospital, Paul Scimeca, president and CEO since January 2022, has seen dramatic changes, both at the hospital and in the community. These changes are shifting more of the hospital\u2019s attention to the needs of seniors and to behavioral transformations among the population in general, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":89,"featured_media":36435,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\r\nGlens Falls Hospital CEO Says Hospital And Community Have Seen \u2018Drastic Changes\u2019 - Glens Falls Business Journal<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2023\/06\/glens-falls-hospital-ceo-says-hospital-and-community-have-seen-drastic-changes\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Glens Falls Hospital CEO Says Hospital And Community Have Seen \u2018Drastic Changes\u2019 - Glens Falls Business Journal\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Susan Elise Campbell Over his 33-year career at Glens Falls Hospital, Paul Scimeca, president and CEO since January 2022, has seen dramatic changes, both at the hospital and in the community. 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