Visits from New York State Governor Kathy Hochul with SUNY Upstate President Mantosh Dewan, MD, and Upstate University Hospital CEO Robert Corona, DO, helped to build understanding of the infrastructure needs of Upstate University Hospital. To serve the population being seen at Upstate, key elements of the annex are an expanded Emergency Department providing Upstate with between 55 and 75 bays, compared to the current 35. Also, planned: a new burn unit with between six and eight ICU beds and the addition of between two and four new operating room.
When an organization consistently focuses on innovation over a period, growth and expansion are often the result. This pattern certainly has been the case with Upstate University Hospital, which includes its main campus in Syracuse and many adjacent healthcare facilities located throughout Central New York.
As Central New York’s only academic medical center, as well as the region’s largest employer, Upstate has been exploring and utilizing new and innovative healthcare initiatives for years under the leadership of Robert Corona, DO, CPE, MBA, FCAP, FASCP, who has served as CEO of the hospital since 2018. A new throughput center, a new pathology institute presently under construction, cutting-edge drone technology, new clinical offerings and innovative, eco friendly buildings are just a few of the ways Upstate has been on the forefront of advancements in healthcare. Stemming from innovations in these varied aspects of healthcare, Upstate is now experiencing a period of immense growth.
Alongside these offerings, the big news announced in May 2025 was that Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature had allocated $450 million in the state budget for Upstate to build a new and expanded emergency department, a more modern burn unit, and some additional operating room capacity at its downtown Syracuse campus. This support of a hospital “annex” represents the largest capital funding allocation in Upstate’s history.
“There’s just a ton of growth happening,” said Dr. Corona. “It’s exciting. And while it’s a challenge to stay on top of all the building and expansion we’re doing, overall, if you ask me how I feel, I’m very excited about it all.”
Expanding to Better Serve Patients in CNY
Dr. Corona described that prior to the capital funding announcement, Governor Hochul visited Upstate’s emergency department and recognized the need for expanded services to help meet the community’s needs. He also emphasized the immense support the Upstate team received from the state legislators who “all went to bat for us.” “The governor came and visited our emergency department a couple of times. She was very gracious. And when she saw the status of the physical plant and the contrast of that with the exceptional people who work there, she felt the people of Central New York need a better emergency department, especially when this is the go-to referral center. And she surprised us with the $450 million, which we’re so grateful for,” Dr. Corona said.
Elaborating on the demand for greater capacity to serve patients in the community, Dr. Corona stated that the Upstate healthcare system needs more capacity including operating rooms, and a bigger emergency department to support its level one trauma center. Additionally, an upgraded burn unit is needed because Upstate is the only burn unit between Rochester and Westchester County.
LOW-DOSE RADIATION THERAPY
Upstate Medical University now offers low-dose radiotherapy to treat osteoarthritis. This provides safe, effective, and non-invasive treatment for inflammatory and degenerative conditions of the tendons, joints, and other soft tissues of the body. It can significantly improve pain and stiffness, helping avoid the need for surgery. Anna Shaprio, MD, of Upstate’s Department of Radiation Oncology leads this program and is accepting patients for treatment
“We have a responsibility to our community to grow our capacity,” Dr. Corona stated.
Speaking about the timeline of the hospital annex, Dr. Corona said an aggressive timeline would be about five years. Selection of a design team is already underway, and the team is hoping to have a design company selected by the end of 2025. Following the selection will be collaboration with healthcare providers who work in the affected environments, analysis of demolition needs, and finally, construction.
Reflecting on the magnitude of this growth at Upstate, Dr. Corona said, “I think this has got to be one of the highlights of my career.”
Looking at Growth Through Various Lenses
Not to be overshadowed by the historic capital funding for the main hospital annex is the surge in growth happening within Upstate’s new and existing locations throughout the wider rural Central New York region. The theme of “meeting people where they are” has consistently driven the strategic vision of growth carried out by Dr. Corona and the C-suite team at Upstate. To further develop hospital services and facilities that meet patients’ needs closer to where they live, Dr. Corona explained how he views growth through several lenses, including both the specific population and the geographic region being served.
“Those are the two main things we look at when we consider strategically where we’re going to grow,” he said.
When looking at growth through the lens of the population, Dr. Corona explained that the group of people that’s presently the most prevalent is the mature population, who are living longer with chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, cerebrovascular diseases, diabetes and neurologic diseases such as Alzheimer’s. Looking to the future, Dr. Corona anticipates a younger demographic of patients that will create the need for a different set of healthcare needs.
REGION’S ONLY MULTI-DISCIPLINARY MELANOMA PROGRAM
The Melanoma and Advanced Skin Cancer Program at the Upstate Cancer Center is the region’s only multi-disciplinary team and treats melanoma, advanced basal and squamous cell cancers and rare skin cancers such as Merkel cell carcinoma and others. From left: Daniel Thomas, MD, Amar Suryadevara, MD, Scott Albert, MD and Jade Homsi, MD.
“If you look at the population we anticipate coming to the region, that’s going to be families that are going to be working at places like Micron and some of the other new companies that are coming in the area,” Dr. Corona said. “In Rome, Chobani Yogurt is building a large plant and so we anticipate that will also create high demand for our primary care services, family medicine, OB/GYN and pediatrics. W
e plan to expand the services we offer east of Syracuse, leveraging our success in Verona.”
Looking through the lens of geographic need, and helping patients access healthcare closer to where they live, Upstate is expanding its cancer care locations at the compass points North, West, and East, with expanded hours and physical locations. The new pathology institute near the existing Bone and Joint Center in East Syracuse should be completed in about 15 months.
“Many patients don’t want to come to downtown Syracuse unless necessary. If they live in rural communities, they want to stay for services in their communities,” said Dr. Corona.
To provide local care for the anticipated new arrivals near the Micron site in the North and needs in the West, additional expansions have been planned or were already completed at the Liverpool/ Clay Carling Road location, including pediatric care this year, and Upstate’s eighth location for physical medicine and rehabilitation that was finalized last year. Upstate also provides more than a dozen services in the Camillus area to help meet patient needs.
The Behind-the-Scenes Operational Side of Growth
Carefully coordinating and directing the operations of the many expansion projects at Upstate is Marylin Galimi, MS, CHOP, Upstate’s Chief Operating Officer. With a background in electrical engineering, Galimi came to Upstate in 2016 and now oversees the development and planning of construction projects in addition to support areas like physical planning, environmental services and supply chain, as well as ancillary services such as radiology, pathology and pharmacy.
Looking back on her almost ten years with Upstate so far, Galimi said, “It’s been a lot of fun to be honest. Just to see and be a part of the growth and the transformation at Upstate has been amazing. I think the community has embraced all the work that we’ve been putting into the community.”
While it’s difficult to give a specific number as projects are started and completed regularly, she estimates there are between 80 to 120 active projects that the Upstate team is working on at any given time. Galimi highlighted the teams involved in the various aspects of these expansion projects.
“We have in-house architects, construction managers, engineers, and the physical planners who work on critical maintenance,” Galimi said. “We even have our own mini construction team that works on construction and renovations.”
The operations leadership team has a unique name: COLT (Clinical Operations Leadership Team), which meets weekly to work through operational initiatives and to keep growth moving forward in-line with Upstate’s mission and vision.
“The group is unique and it’s effective. It really helps us stay on track,” said Galimi, adding that participants include other members of the C-suite: CMO Amy Tucker, MD; CNO Scott Jessie; CAO Nancy Daoust; CIO Mark Zeman and Laurie Nicoletti from the CEO’s office.
“The composition of the group is what makes it successful,” she added. “We elevate items to the CEO for final approval and, as needed, review financial impacts with the CFO or staffing with the CHRO.”
When planning new projects, such as the recently completed Interventional Radiology Suite, Galimi explained the most important considerations for her and the team are the people who will be working within the buildings – both now and in the future – so that care can be provided in the best way possible for patients.
MINIMALLY INVASIVE LUNG BIOPSIES
Manju Paul, MD, and Mansur Javaid, MD, are in the suite where they offer minimally invasive robotic-assisted lung biopsy which enables doctors to detect lung cancers much earlier than other methods. Upstate is the only hospital in the region to offer this procedure.
“It’s like we’re building the house, and the people who are going to be inside the house —those who will be providing the services and the patients who will receive care— are the most important part of the plan,” she said. “So, we work on how we’re going to create an environment that will attract new recruits to the area and make it more efficient for the people working inside the space to provide the services they’re skilled to do, and ultimately make it the best experience for the patient.”
Patient-Centered Expansion and Collaboration
No matter where the new projects are taking place, whether it’s the hospital annex in downtown Syracuse or brandnew healthcare centers in rural areas, Galimi emphasized how each area of growth that Upstate pursues is aimed at meeting patients where they are.
“We’re always looking at multiple growth paths in parallel,” she said. “We’re looking at how we get services to the patients where they are. We’re not just doing one thing in the Syracuse city area – we’re growing for the entire Central New York region.”
For Dr. Corona, an exciting aspect of Upstate’s mission to expand into areas that will help meet the needs of patients throughout the community is the opportunity to collaborate with other healthcare organizations.
“I see a tremendous opportunity for collaboration among the hospitals in the region to work as a system, for needs like load balancing and keeping patients in their own communities,” he said. “We support that. And the growth is big enough that everybody could grow. Competition can be healthy and move care forward but there is a lot of collaboration and that’s a really nice thing to see.”
As Galimi pointed out as well, such patient-centered collaboration benefits everyone. “I think what I value most about Upstate is that it’s looking at total health and wellness of the entire community,” she said.
I will not debate the politics behind the recent health care cuts, but I will share my concerns about their impacts.
A native of Rhode Island, Steven Hanks, MD, has a substantial family lineage of first responders – both his father and grandfather were firefighters. Dr. Hanks developed a different yet related passion, however, and when he decided to follow that passion to study medicine, he took the tradition of his family line in a new direction.
In his role, Dr. Hanks is responsible for over 20 different organizations within Trinity Health, including hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, large physician practices, urgent care centers and more. He shared that one of the reasons he’s an effective leader is because he is often present at many different locations within the healthcare network, and he values open communication from all of his colleagues.
Exciting innovations and new accreditations at both SPHP and St. Joseph’s Health have been a focus of Dr. Hanks’ efforts as President and CEO, and they are further evidence of his effective manner of leadership. Specifically at St. Joseph’s Health, which has long been at the forefront of robotic surgery, the recent acquisition of the DV5, a next-generation, multiport surgical robot, has brought even more advancements to the technologies the hospital offers to its patients. The first healthcare system in the Syracuse area to fully embrace robotics, as Dr. Hanks explained, St. Joseph’s offers a full array of robotic approaches, including all generations of the Da Vinci robot, the Xi, and now the DV5.
“One of the things I’ve always insisted on is if we’re going to offer a service, like hernia surgery, I want to provide it at the highest possible level. And so, for areas where there are existing accreditations available, I like to push our organization to seek those accreditations, and that’s exactly what happened with our Center of Excellence for hernia surgery at St. Joseph’s. We’ve met rigorous standards for outcomes, safety, patient satisfaction, and continuous improvement of our quality. For patients, this means they can be confident in the care they’re receiving when they seek hernia care at St. Joseph’s Health. Hernias can be very complex and difficult to care for. We have a variety of approaches that we’ve brought together under the Center of Excellence that allow us to offer many options for patients with the best outcomes in the safest delivery of care possible.”
speaking with a patient, and it creates a note. Now, the doctor or PA no longer needs to either dictate or type the note. This process decreases the amount of time the provider spends on documentation, so they can see more patients and spend more time face-to-face with patients. These are exciting things that are happening, which directly help us improve the experience of and care for our patients.”
“At Trinity, we’re already investing in these trends,” he stated. “We’ve deployed virtual nursing, and we’re leveraging telehealth for virtual visits with our physicians, including our specialists. We’re growing our home-based services, our value-based care models, and our population health models. We’re reimagining how we support the workforce of the future.
Along with such changes, there will certainly be many challenges, as Dr. Hanks pointed out. These challenges include cuts to government funding, increasing government payer and decreasing private payer models, an aging population with higher healthcare needs, and more centralization of super subspecialities leading to a need for patients to travel longer distances for highly specialized care. To confront these challenges head-on, Dr. Hanks emphasized the need for transparent communication and collaboration across the entire healthcare system and beyond.
With Dr. Hanks at the helm, the providers, staff, and patients at St. Joseph’s Health and SPHP can rest assured the organization will tackle the coming changes and challenges by staying true to its foundational mission.
When Micron Technology announced its historic plan to invest up to $100 billion in a semiconductor megafab in Clay, New York, it made national headlines. But for manufacturers across Central New York, this announcement isn’t just exciting, it’s transformative. Micron’s presence is expected to bring thousands of high-tech jobs, create a robust innovative ecosystem, and fundamentally change the regional economy. For small to midsized manufacturers, the opportunity is clear: Micron’s arrival will open the doors to new markets, new partnerships, and long-term, sustainable growth.
We are witnessing what some are calling “generational change” in our region. Like most leaders, I view change as both inevitable and largely positive. But while change brings new opportunities, we also understand that it brings new challenges and risks. As leaders, we are compelled to consider how change will impact our communities and our companies. One way to manage through change is by playing out scenarios. Scenario planning enables you to prepare for multiple plausible futures by identifying key uncertainties, mapping out strategic responses, and monitoring leading indicators. Bringing together teams to play out scenarios allows for more creative thinking and development of solutions that anticipate challenges and smooth out volatility and risk.
The construction industry is entering a transformative era where artificial intelligence (AI) is set to redefine traditional estimating processes. Accurate project cost estimation has always been a critical factor in the success of construction projects. AI technologies, particularly those involving machine learning and predictive analytics, are poised to enhance the speed, precision, and efficiency of estimating, enabling contractors to remain competitive in an increasingly data-driven market.
Recent conversations with families seeking mental health resources have highlighted the severe challenges in accessing psychiatric care in our community. What began as routine inquiries have exposed a healthcare system stretched beyond capacity, with primary care physicians increasingly unable to connect patients with psychiatric specialists. The backlog, initially attributed to COVID-19 disruptions and workforce shortages, has reached critical levels that demand innovative solutions.
From breast cancer surgery, hernia repairs and laparoscopic surgery, to endocrine surgery, ulcer care, bariatric surgery and more, the Crouse Medical Practice General Surgery team offers a wide array of surgical procedures to help patients return to health and continue enjoying their lives. The team of 12 physicians brings a vast depth of knowledge and experience that combine to create a supportive practice that consistently focuses on patient-centered care. This patient-focused philosophy is built upon collaboration with the team, including primary care providers, as Clinton Ingersol, MD, Hillary McMullin, MD, Benjamin Sadowitz, MD, FACS and Angelina Schwartz, MD each explained in their own words.
Similarly, for Dr. Schwartz, her approach to patient care is focused on open communication and reaching decisions together as a team.
Open lines of communication and support apply not only to patient care, but also to how the team works together to provide optimal healthcare for patients, as Dr. Schwartz emphasized.
Dr. Ingersol echoed these ideas, highlighting the streamlined communication process within the Crouse healthcare network specifically. “It’s great for patients when everyone is on the same page and communicating in a multidisciplinary fashion. Especially within the Crouse network, it’s so easy to communicate with our primary care colleagues. We can send direct messages to each other to coordinate patient care and ask questions. Our office staff does a great job of coordinating referrals from primary care offices, making sure that patients are seen according to urgency, and making sure things are followed up on and communicated properly,” he explained.
“We have a wide range of practitioners at Crouse General Surgery. Some of our more senior partners have been in practice my entire life. Then we have a few surgeons who have only been practicing for one or two years. That range of experience really offers a lot of benefits to patients because our more senior partners obviously have a great deal of experience – they’ve seen many different conditions and anomalies, whereas the younger practitioners trained in an era where technology is more common and prevalent – for example, we received robotics training in residency,” said Dr. McMullin. “Our senior partners have been very gracious about including us in their patient care. They really enjoy having us come along and assist with interesting or challenging cases. They also elicit our feedback on some of the cases they’ve managed to see what we would do, with our fresh perspectives.”
Advanced Robotics and Innovative Surgical Techniques
“The administrators asked us surgeons, ‘Do you think this is the future?’ and ‘Do you think this is something that we should invest in?’ To their credit, once we told them robotics really is going to be the future for many service lines in surgery, they jumped in with both feet. They made an investment of both time and money because they saw how robotics was going to be better for patients, and they trusted our judgment,” said Dr. Sadowitz, adding that the general surgery team at Crouse now has 11 robots at its disposal, including the DV5, one of the newest systems, as well as an SP robot, Xi systems and a smaller X system.
“Dr. McMullin and I happened to go to a residency that is more advanced in its surgical robotic training than most other programs. We came out of training having a really good grasp on robotic techniques. I think I graduated with more than 100 cases that I had performed on the robot already, which is fantastic,” shared Dr. Schwartz.
“The future is very bright for Crouse in terms of overall surgery, with many great surgeons and a lot of advanced technology. The administration has made it a priority to make sure we stay technologically ahead of the game, so that’s a big piece of it,” said Dr. Sadowitz. “Crouse has always had the right mindset of ‘patients come first’ from the top down. The hospital always aims to keep very talented people in the hospital doing cases, so that not only are the patients highly satisfied, but the surgeons are, too. It’s a unique mix you really don’t find in many places, and it’s a hard balance to maintain, but Crouse has always excelled at doing just that, and as long as we keep that focus, I think it will continue into the future.”