Goshen and Middletown hospitals to stay open until 2011

Goshen — Orange Regional Medical Center has entered into a sale/leaseback of its hospitals in Goshen and Middletown that will allow those facilities to remain open until 2011. The hospital arranged the sale/leaseback through the Community Foundation of Orange and Sullivan Counties with the support of the Gerry Foundation. Orange Regional expects to break ground in the spring for a new hospital in Wallkill. When it is completed in 2011, the Goshen and Middletown campuses will close, according to the hospital’s plans. The New York State Department of Health required Orange Regional to sell the existing campuses before approving the new hospital project. The $10 million purchase of the hospitals was made possible through a $4 million gift and a $6 million loan from the Gerry Foundation. Darrell Supak, a Gerry Foundation executive, said the sale/leaseback “is a collaboration of not-for-profit organizations that truly benefits the entire region through the development of a new, state-of-the-art hospital.” R.J. Smith, president of the Community Foundation Board, said the board was grateful to the Gerry Foundation “for their role in enhancing the health care in our region and bringing this historic project one step closer to reality.” Orange Regional Medical Center will replace its two existing hospitals in Goshen and Middletown with a new hospital that will be the first construction of its kind in New York State in over 20 years. When completed, the 600,000-square-foot facility will have seven floors and 374 beds. The total cost will exceed $300 million. The new hospital will be located on 61 acres on East Main Street near the Route 17 and I-84 interchange in the Town of Wallkill. It will be the largest medical center between the Tappan Zee Bridge and Albany. The hospital’s Web site at www.ormc.org gives more information about the new hospital, including a feedback form that allows the public to submit questions or comment on the project.