By Carol Bartold

June 15, 2011: The Trustees Room of Village Hall in Bronxville was filled almost to capacity for the regular meeting of the Village Planning Board on Wednesday, June 8. Of prime interest to residents was an update on the plans for Lawrence Hospital's expansion.

Edward Dinan, Lawrence Hospital president and chief operating officer, stated that the hospital's proposed addition represents much more than a cancer center. "The pressures on health care are significant," he said. "Keeping up with them and addressing them is important for patients."

At issue for the hospital is its ability to thrive and attract top-quality doctors and nurses in expanding the ability to treat patients. The proposed addition includes plans for six new operating rooms to replace current outdated facilities, built in 1949 and updated once in the 1970s. The construction footprint has been squeezed to the minimum possible square footage to facilitate the new operating rooms.

Primary egress for cancer center radiation patients, originally designed to exit on Pondfield Road West, would be modified. There would be a new lobby, and patients would now exit toward the parking plaza. The modification would hide the exit from Pondfield Road West residents and provide privacy for cancer patients.

Board member Anna Longobardo asked about the viability of having patients exit via the hospital's existing corridors, which are already public space and wrap around hospital offices.

Dr. Peter Rizzo of Lawrence Hospital explained that the privacy provided by the new lobby addresses the issue of immunosuppression, which renders many cancer patients susceptible to disease and infection. Segregation from the general hospital population ensures maximum protection. To guarantee effective segregation, the hospital would have to make significant programmatic changes to its existing building.

The passageway from the new lobby to the parking plaza exit would be built at the limit of the proposed structure and not extend beyond the current perimeter borders of the hospital. Thick landscaping is proposed along Pondfield Road West as an additional shield for nearby residents.

As proposed, construction would provide space for a second linear accelerator for radiation therapy should the hospital need to increase its capacity for treatment. "We have one chance to build these vaults," Dinan said.

Planning Board Chairman Donald Henderson asked about the additional number of patients the expansion would serve.

Dr. Anthony Provenzano of Lawrence Hospital stated that radiation can accommodate four patients per hour. The typical radiation patient would receive one series of treatments over a specific number of consecutive days and then return only occasionally for further therapy. The cancer center would probably serve twenty to twenty-two patients per day.

During the public hearing portion of the meeting, cancer survivors spoke to the need for a local cancer center. They related hardships they have encountered in having to travel into the city or across the county to receive therapy. "Getting to distant treatments and therapy becomes taxing and exhausting," said one patient. Another speaker speculated that patient compliance with protocol is probably better at a local comprehensive cancer center where the doctors and patient records are all in the same location.

Representatives from Alger Court presented a petition, signed by two hundred residents, opposing the hospital expansion. "There is a viable alternative for the expansion on Palmer Road," a Westbourne resident said. "Why aren't they looking at that? Once construction starts, it's too late to consider alternatives."

Several Alger Court residents expressed concern about construction noise as well as ongoing long-term noise after the expansion is completed. The new building would have several air conditioning units and vents as well as chillers and condensers, which residents feel would produce additional noise and possibly fog. "Construction noise is one thing, but the residual noise will never go away," stated a Westbourne resident.

Per a Lawrence Hospital representative, noise levels in apartments across Pondfield Road West have been monitored during the day as well as at night. The representative stated that the improvements planned for the expansion would not significantly raise existing background noise. Residents questioned the veracity of that assessment. Chairman Henderson said that the noise report is available to the public.

Residents expressed dissatisfaction about the general unavailability of public documents at village hall. Despite notification that the documents are available, speakers related their frustrations about filing requests for the documents only to receive copies of permit applications rather than reports, or being told that no documents are available. Chairman Henderson promised to address the problem and see that all documents are on file and available to the public.

"Our concern is the size of the project in such a small area," said a Westbourne resident. "Although the project would be well-meaning, it will be a scar on the community."

Pictured here: A model of Lawrence Hospital Center's proposed addition on display at the June 11 Planning Board meeting.

Photo supplied by Lawrence Hospital Center.