Upstate University Hospital Community campus formally opens family birth center following renovation project

ONONDAGA, N.Y. — Construction crews have finished a $9.2 million renovation project at the family birth center at Upstate University Hospital’s Community campus at 4900 Broad Road in the town of Onondaga.

The center will begin housing mothers and babies throughout the entire 21-bed unit starting in January. It’s located on the hospital’s second floor.

Construction on the 29,000-square-foot space project started in November 2016, Upstate said in a news release. The facility hosted a media tour of the birth center on Wednesday.

PAC Associates of Oswego Inc. was the contractor on the renovation project. Syracuse–based Dwyer Architectural handled the design work on the project.

Upstate Medical University describes the post-partum section of the completed floor as “unrecognizable” when compared to the pre-renovation space, per the release. The renovations included a new floor plan, expanded rooms, new family lounge spaces, a new six-bed nursery, nursing upgrades, and technology improvements.

“Moms come here healthy. They’re not sick. They don’t want to be treated as sick. They want to have good meals. They want their families to visit,” Barbara Bennett, nurse manager of the family birth center, said in speaking with reporters during the media tour.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com