ConnextCare has concluded a nearly 10-month construction project at its Pulaski location and is now seeing patients at the new External Respiratory Center (ERC).
Construction project, which started last summer, included 800 square-feet of additional clinical space, with a covered canopy and testing center; four electric car charging stations; a gazebo powered and equipped with Wi-Fi; an 1,100 square-foot walking trail for staff and community use and .7 acres of new parking spaces and reconstruction of the existing staff parking lot.
The new ERC, which started treating patients May 5, includes three new exam rooms, two of which are negative-pressure rooms. These spaces will be used for acute care appointments to allow for the continuous air exchange within the space to keep staff and patients safe from suspected communicable diseases. The negative pressure rooms will also be utilized to complete pulmonary function testing for patients with COPD as well as spirometry testing to assess asthmatic patients, as these two tests have not been easily accessible locally throughout the pandemic. There is also a small lab on site to allow for point of care testing for things such as flu, COVID-19 and strep throat, so when possible, patients will leave with a confirmed diagnosis and treatment plan to address their condition.
“We are very excited to introduce our patients, staff and community to this progressive model of care,” said Tricia Peter-Clark, president and CEO of ConnextCare. “The External Respiratory Center is the first clinical space of this kind in our region. Over the last three years of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ConnextCare staff have witnessed the many challenges that our patients have encountered when trying to seek services that they need most and these updates to our Pulaski office will greatly improve our ability to deliver these vital services and the best quality of care to them.”
This project was made possible, in part, due to an ARPA award received from the U.S. Treasury and awarded by the Oswego County Legislature, as well as funds received through American Rescue Plan and National Grid as part of its NY EV Make-Ready Program.