Cayuga Medical Center opens new main entrance

ITHACA - Cayuga Medical Center completed the expansion phase of its multi-year construction project with the January 21, 2008, opening of the new main entrance and new admissions area on the west side of the medical center.

The new entrance, located on the second-floor level, includes a spacious two-story atrium lobby with natural light, a water feature, garden views, a cafe, an information and patient-services desk, and a new admissions area with private patient registration.

The beginning of 2007 saw the unveiling of the 40,000-square-foot expansion of the renovated and enlarged emergency department, and the enlarged intensive critical and cardiac care unit (ICCU), complete with a new entrance designed solely for emergency vehicles, and with a separate entrance for walk-in patients. The new Emergency Department and ICCU became operational the first quarter of this year.

HOLT Architects worked closely with Cayuga Medical Center staff to consider hundreds of factors affecting building-site sustainability, water efficiency, the use of energy and its impact on the planet's atmosphere, building materials and re-sources, and indoor environmental quality. The multi-phase project was designed in accordance with Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) guide-lines and was built by Charles A. Gaetano Construction.