Clark Patterson Lee has been selected as the architect to construct a new Brooks Memorial Hospital and provide direction for capital renovations at TLC Health Network as well.

The announcement was made after board meetings at the respective hospital systems.

“Our selection was based on both the firm’s ability to build a hospital of the size and type appropriate for our community, but also a firm having experience working with New York state regulations within a tight time frame,” said Chris Lanski, chair of the Brooks Memorial Hospital board of directors.

“I am pleased that the process is moving ahead,” added TLC Board Chair Jim Wild, MD. “I look forward to working together with Brooks and Kaleida Health in transforming TLC Health Network to better serve our patients in Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, and southern Erie counties.”

Earlier this year, the two health care organizations announced their intentions to affiliate with Kaleida Health. This was done to help coordinate care, enhance clinical partnerships and secure the respective hospital’s presence in the region, ensuring that the health care needs of the community are met.

The opportunity to partner with Kaleida Health and its programs at the Gates Vascular Institute, Buffalo General Medical Center and Women & Children’s Hospital of Buffalo is to coordinate care so patients in the region will have access to appropriate care locally and be seamlessly transitioned to tertiary network care platforms when needed. Brooks Memorial and TLC Health will also have greater coordination of care and enhanced partnerships with Erie County Medical Center’s (a partner of Kaleida Health) centers of excellence in behavioral health and transplantation, along with adult level one trauma care.

The vision of the three parties is to form an integrated delivery system with the Dunkirk campus taking the lead in delivering traditional, inpatient hospital services and the Irving campus becoming more of an ambulatory location with an array of specialty inpatient and complementary specialty services. Both campuses would have emergency rooms (ER’s).

TLC Health will renovate their campus focusing on outpatient services, ambulatory surgery, imaging, labs plus specialty services including orthopedics, mental health, substance use, neurobehavioral, rehabilitation, and physician specialties.

Brooks Hospital is focusing on building a new facility (including surgical suites, imaging, labs, support services, etc.) with the joint $57 million grant that was secured through New York State’s Essential Healthcare Provider Support Program earlier this year.

The size, cost and location of the new facility will be determined in the coming months. Keys to these decisions are access to clinical care, market demographics, health care trends and site infrastructure needs.

Lanski also said that the Brooks Memorial board of directors will announce a “hospital relocation committee” in the coming weeks.

Government leaders from the Southern Tier praised the decision.

“We care about ensuring access to quality healthcare close to home and by making tangible progress on plans to renovate and construct healthcare facilities in our region, we are helping further that mission. We will continue to stand with our partners and look forward to more positive results in the near future,” said Congressman Tom Reed (NY 23rd District).

“This choice of architect is superb because of their outstanding record. The projects at Brooks and Lake Shore are transformational, bringing not only updated bricks and mortar, but new access to state-of-the-art health care. It will change and save lives,” said New York State Senator Catharine Young (57th District).

Clark Patterson Lee specializes in healthcare architecture, planning and programming. With four local offices, the firm’s work is on display in hospitals across Western New York. They most recently completed the neonatal intensive care unit expansion at Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital.

John P. Hall, AIA, MRAIC, OAA and Principal with Clark Patterson Lee said, “We are thrilled to be a part of this development team. In the last 30 years only two completely new acute care hospitals have been built in New York State, so this is a rare opportunity to transform health care delivery for the Dunkirk community and the entire Chautauqua County region.”