Midtown Kingston would be a much quieter place if it weren’t for three key anchors—Kingston High School, City Hall, and Kingston Hospital. The hospital, now consolidated with Benedictine into one organization called Health Alliance, has 1,033 employees, a big chunk of the 2,400 employees that work for Health Alliance, which is the largest employer in Kingston. It’s also a 24/7 organization, a beehive of activity at all hours of the day and night.
The hospital has been an anchor of Midtown for more than a century, opening its doors on Broadway in November of 1894 (Benedictine followed in 1901). After a devastating fire, the reconstructed hospital reopened in 1926, with numerous renovations and expansions occurring in the 1950s and 60s. It’s now a 150-bed acute-care hospital—Benedictine has an equal number of beds—and home of a new, expanded emergency center (the merger plan called for the EDs at the two hospitals to be consolidated at Kingston). Approximately 50,000 people a year will visit the ED, which is 16,000 square feet and has 35 beds. Kingston Hospital also houses a maternity unit, with a brand new facility on the third floor, and a chest pain center. (Oncology, mental health, detox, the sleep center, and orthopedics are located at Benedictine. Both hospitals house women’s centers, and the executive offices are split between the two facilities. )
While Kingston Hospital has its own cafeteria, many employees patronize neighboring restaurants, such as Top Nosh, Stone Soup, and, if they’re on the graveyard shift, the Broadway Lights Diner. The hospital is a nexus of activity, accessible to walk-ins and with a bus drop. “The impact on the surrounding businesses is quite great. It’s a very active spot on Broadway,” said Greg Howard, vice president of human resources at Health Alliance. Being right smack in the city is an advantage: “You can walk to many Broadway businesses for lunch or a snack, and the high school, fire department and city offices are all nearby. Although it is an old facility, it has kept up with the changing times, making it a place for which our community can be proud.”
Both Kingston Hospital and Benedictine have foundations whose fund-raising events are mainstays in the community, including two golf tournaments—Kingston’s is in August, Benedictine’s in June. Kingston also will host a fashion show and dinner in October, while Benedictine will hold a September bike-a-thon. The funds raised from the events help pay for facilities improvement, new equipment, and other costs not covered by Medicare. The Kingston Hospital Foundation also sponsors free walks around the city that are designed to get people to exercise more and build appreciation of the city’s historic streetscape.
