Only 13 months after breaking ground, Bristol Health’s new Medical Care Center will start seeing patients on Monday - and city officials hope it will serve as a building block for Bristol’s downtown renaissance.
“It’s hard to believe the first shovel was put in the ground on May 26, 2018,” John Lodovico, chairman of the Board of Directors of Bristol Health’s Downtown Building Committee, said Friday during a ribbon cutting ceremony. “Here we are 13 months later opening this Medical Care Center.”
Kurt Barwis, president and CEO of Bristol Health, called it an “unbelievable blessing” to have so many people support the 60,000 square-foot building at 15 Riverside Ave., in the heart of downtown.
The building will house a blood draw station and physical therapy on the lower level. The first floor will also be home to orthopedics, rheumatology and neurology. The second floor will house cardiology, urology and endocrinology.
Barwis said the state-of-the-art facility will help tremendously with physician recruitment, allowing Bristol Health to compete for the best specialists.
“It really does make a difference in our recruiting,” Barwis said.
The president and CEO added that 30% of Bristol Health’s operations happen at the hospital, while the other 70% occurs out in the community. Having a number of specialties under one roof will allow residents of the area much more access to care, while building a nexus for physicians to work together.
“It’s a big, bold statement about who Bristol Health is,” Barwis said. “We’re not going anywhere.”
Barwis gave credit to the hospital’s board of directors, city officials and Florida-based Rendina Healthcare Estate - the developer of the downtown center. The president and CEO said everyone worked together, putting “self interest” aside to avoid any hiccups in the process.
“Hiccups could have potentially failed the project,” Barwis said.
Barwis also said the board of directors has always put meeting the needs of the community first, despite some good financial years and some poor ones.
“Maybe it’s not about the bottom line, maybe it’s about fulfilling this mission,” Barwis said of the board’s approach.
Glenn Heiser, chairman of the Bristol Health Board of Directors, said the Medical Care Center is the beginning of “what we believe will be a renaissance to downtown.”
Mayor Ellen Zoppo-Sassu celebrated the opening of the city’s newest road, called Hope Street, earlier in the day Friday. The road will connect North Main Street to Riverside Avenue and allow access to the medical building’s parking lot.
“I can’t think of a better anchor for this side than Bristol Health,” the mayor said.
For too long, Zoppo-Sassu continued, the city’s downtown district was on life support. She said the “All Heart” motto Bristol adopted never resonated with her until she saw the recent revitalization of downtown.
“This is an important day for all of us,” the mayor said.
“It’s a beginning, it’s a future and it’s a strong one,” Barwis added.
Mary Lynn Gagnon, executive director of the development foundation, said all of the artwork in the building was purchased from local artists, including those from Bristol, Southington, Farmington, New Britain and Thomaston. Of the 15 artists, seven of them reside in Bristol.
“We wanted to make sure we supported our local communities,” Gagnon said.
Justin Muszynski can be reached at 860-973-1809 or jmuszynski@bristolpress.com