Anna Jaques Hospital Celebrates Completion of New Construction
Completed Project Expands Hospital’s Surgical Capacity, Renovates Entrance
Newburyport, MA – Anna Jaques Hospital hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday, June 2, to officially open the new Helen & Byron J. Matthews Main Entrance, Eleanor Woodman Walkway as well as the Gerrish Family Surgical Suite, which will expand surgical services for residents of Essex County. All of the initiatives are a part of the hospital’s Stepping Forward Project, which funded the construction through a community-based capital campaign that raised $4.2 million from generous donors in the greater Newburyport area.
“This project represents our vision of providing outstanding care right here in our local community,” said Mark Goldstein, president of Anna Jaques Hospital. “For the benefit of our patients, visitors, caregivers and staff, we focused on enhancing access to specialty services while also creating a state-of-art environment that is reflective of the quality of care provided at our hospital. We appreciate and celebrate all of the generous donors who supported Anna Jaques Hospital as we continue to evolve and expand to meet the health care needs of our area.”
Attendees at the celebration included donors, hospital leaders, and elected officials who had the opportunity to tour the renovated spaces. The public opening of the new main entrance and walkway will take place on June 6th.
“On behalf of the Board, I am honored to share these new facilities with our patients and the community,” said Grace Connolly, chair of Anna Jaques Hospital’s Board of Trustees. “We are deeply grateful to the many volunteers, Anna Jaques Hospital staff, and community members who have weathered the challenges of the last two years to help get this project to completion.”
The Stepping Forward Project expanded the hospital’s surgical capacity for the first time in 25 years with the completion of two new operating rooms to support the implementation of the hospital’s New England Baptist Orthopedic (NEBO) program and accommodate state-of-the-art orthopedic equipment. The project connects the Virginia A. Capolupo Entrance and the first-floor main entrance with an inviting open staircase to improve patient flow while retaining the historic look and feel of the hospital campus as well as maintaining and improving outdoor seating and landscaping.
“The space renovation and modernization of two operating rooms will allow for expansion of surgical services in all of our specialty areas and further integration of the New England Baptist Orthopedics program at Anna Jaques Hospital,” said Glenn Focht, MD, chief medical officer at Anna Jaques Hospital. “The state-of-the-art space, larger rooms, and new technology, will allow us to serve more patients who choose to have their surgery performed close to home, whether it is a biopsy, joint replacements or outpatient surgery for hand, foot and ankle procedures.”
In December 2019, Anna Jaques established a clinical collaboration with New England Baptist Hospital, also part of Beth Israel Lahey Health and a premier orthopedics specialty hospital. The New England Baptist Orthopedics Program at Anna Jaques was developed collaboratively between Anna Jaques Hospital and its affiliated physicians, along with New England Baptist Hospital.
About Anna Jaques Hospital
Anna Jaques Hospital is a 119-bed not-for-profit community hospital serving the Merrimack Valley, North Shore and Southern New Hampshire. With 1,200 employees and more than 200 physicians on staff, Anna Jaques is recognized for delivering high quality community health care with an emphasis on patient satisfaction.
Anna Jaques Hospital is a part of Beth Israel Lahey Health, a health care system that brings together academic medical centers and teaching hospitals, community and specialty hospitals, more than 4,700 physicians, and 39,000 employees in a shared mission to expand access to great care and advance the science and practice of medicine through ground-breaking research and education.
