Massena Memorial Hospital’s office building ground breaking included, from left, Herb Deshaies, Village Trustee, Daren Gotham, Northern Tier Construction, Dick Brunet, Burns Brothers, MMH Chief Executive Officer Charles F. Fahd, II, Kevin Poor, Collins Hammond, John Eastman, ME Engineering, Eric Witchi, King and King Architects, Mark Brouillette, MMH Senior Director Ancillary Services, Dave MacLennan, MMH Board of Managers Vice Chair, John Beaudoin, Maintenance Section Leader, Dick Ashlaw, Senator Griffo’s representative Joe Gray, Massena Town Supervisor, Chris Stone, Hyde Stone Mechanical, Frenchie Coupal, MMH Board of Managers, Rick Campbell, MMH Foundation President and Jim Reagen, Senator Ritchie’s representative.

 
MASSENA -- Massena Memorial Hospital broke ground yesterday for a new $3.9 million office building designed to meet the community’s medical needs.

“Today we are presented with many challenges and changes in the form of legislative reform, economic recession, but we need to continue planning and making the improvements necessary to meet the communities’ healthcare needs,” said Massena Memorial Chief Executive Officer Charles F. Fahd, II. “We continue to persevere and focus on providing quality healthcare in a professional, compassionate and cost effective manner.”

The 20,300 square foot facility will have two levels. The top level will accommodate 10 to 12 medical practitioners.

The first phase of the construction will complete the medical suites on the top level with an atrium, phlebotomy center, conference room, and a comfortable waiting area.

The second phase is the design and completion of the lower level, which will have a separate entrance facing the Grasse River. The medical suites will be built to the providers’ specifications.

The project expands the Massena Memorial Hospital campus. The building will be across from the hospital on the corner of Maple Street and West Avenue. Entrance to the facility will be from Maple Street.

“This project is going to greatly assist and aid in our ability to attract new physicians to our community,” Fahd said. “Physician recruitment is our number one priority right now. The immediate and long term survival of our community hospital will depend on our ability to attract new primary care and specialty physicians as well as to retain all the excellent physicians that we currently have on our medical staff.”

The Construction Team includes MMH Building and Grounds Committee, King & King Architects David Johnson, Eric Witschi, Amy Lounsbery and Bob Proulx; M/E Engineering, John Beaudoin, MMH Maintenance Section Leader; and the four prime contractors, Northern Tier Contracting, Inc., Hyde Stone Mechanical Contractors, Inc., Collins-Hammond Electrical Contractors, Inc. and Burns Brothers Contractors, Inc.

MMH intends to offer primary care, surgical services, OB and laboratory services, such as blood drawing on the main floor.