BINGHAMTON, N.Y. (WIVT/WBGH) – The hospital that has been on Riverside Drive in Binghamton for 99 years has a new name: Guthrie Lourdes Hospital.
The leaders of Guthrie and Lourdes unveiled a new sign outside the main entrance this morning.
The two hospital chains announced Guthrie’s acquisition of Lourdes last June.
The former President and CEO of Lourdes Ascension, Kathy Connerton, will stay on as president of the hospital.
The addition means Guthrie, which is based in Sayre, Pennsylvania, now has three hospitals in PA and three in New York. Combined, they will have nearly 1,000 physicians and advanced practice providers.
Connerton sought to reassure the public the public that whatever changes take place will be for the better.
“To our patients, we are here for you. Your doctors are not going to change. Your scheduled appointments will not change. You will have greater choice in your options for care, you will have access to an expanded network of specialists and services all right here in the Southern Tier. Our commitment to patient safety and quality of care is stronger than ever,” said Connerton.
Connerton says Lourdes was feeling increasingly isolated and squeezed as the only member of the Ascension system in New York, surrounded by much larger medical systems. She says that since the pandemic, Lourdes was unable to compete for nurses and had been forced to rely on expensive traveling nurses at a cost of $2.5 million over two years which was not sustainable.
Guthrie President and CEO Edmund Sabanegh says the transition has gone smoothly with staff from both sides already working together as a team.
“We’ve been laser focused. This isn’t about either of these organizations. This is about healthcare in this community. Highest quality, highest safety, highest experience, best access. So, we know what we need to accomplish together and we’re well on the way,” said Sabanegh.
Sabanegh says both sides stand to learn from each other, and he praised the Lourdes Mobile Mammography van program as an initiative that could be replicated across Guthrie.
Connerton says Lourdes employees have been excited to adopt Guthrie’s advanced technology systems.
The nuns known as the Daughters of Charity started Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital with 25 beds in the former Corbett mansion in 1925.
Since then, it has grown to a 242 bed hospital with 44 outpatient clinics and nearly 3,000 caregivers.
The transition of signage at all of the various Lourdes facilities will start with covering Ascension logos with temporary Guthrie ones over the next 2 weeks.
