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Forest Hills Hospital Expands to Add New Postpartum Beds, Meditation Room

By Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska | January 18, 2017 3:56pm
 Forest Hills Hospital is upgrading its OB/GYN unit.
Forest Hills Hospital is upgrading its OB/GYN unit.
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Courtesy of Forest Hills Hospital

FOREST HILLS — Local residents will now be able to better take care of their health needs without leaving the neighborhood as Forest Hills Hospital is growing its services, including an $8.2 million expansion of its radiology and OB/GYN departments, hospital officials said.  

“We are constantly growing,” said Susan Browning, executive director of the hospital, at a recent Community Board 6 meeting.

The 312-bed hospital, at 102-01 66th Road, which each year treats more than 50,000 patients at its emergency room, is part of Northwell Health, previously known as the North Shore-LIJ Health System, one of the largest health groups in the Tri-State Area.

The hospital is currently undergoing an expansion, which includes renovations to its OB/GYN unit, where more than 1,800 babies were born in 2015, according to the latest available data.

The department, which currently has 18 beds, will get 10 additional private post-partum rooms this year as well as equipment upgrades, the hospital said.

The new rooms will be built in a space on the third floor vacated by the radiology department, after the hospital opened a new outpatient and inpatient imaging center on the ground floor last October.

The new imaging center built at a cost of approximately $3.2 million, provides a variety of diagnostic services, including CT scans, X-rays, ultrasounds and interventional radiology procedures, such as biopsies, the hospital said.

Forest Hills Hospital is also expanding its multi-specialty center at 95-25 Queens Blvd., where its adding specialists needed by the community, Browning said.

Recently, the center, which offers about 20 clinical specialties, acquired another floor in the building, the hospital said.

Last year, the hospital hired a number of physicians and surgeons, specializing in neurology, urological surgery, gastroenterology, OB/GYN, psychiatry as well as ear, nose and throat, among others.

This year, it's also planning to hire specialists in vascular surgery, thoracic surgery, otolaryngology, oncology, urogynecology and orthopedic hand surgery, Browning said.

The hospital is also planning to create a meditation space. 

"We are planning to construct that later in 2017, on the first floor of the hospital," Browning said. "It will be non-denominational, for all patients, visitors, staff, etc."

Browning also noted that the hospital has a big impact on the local economy, providing more than 2,000 jobs and purchasing $100 million worth of supplies a year.