Mercy Medical Center opens new Carew Street building

Date: 12/23/2014

SPRINGFIELD – The new medical office building at 175 Carew St. on the campus of Mercy Medical Center was formally opened on Dec. 18 with remarks from Congressman Richard Neal and a blessing by Rev. Msgr. Christopher Connelly.

States and local officials, including Mayor Domenic Sarno, state Sen. James Welch, state Reps. Angelo Puppolo Jr., Sean Curran and John Scibak, Holyoke City Councilor James Leahy and Springfield City Councilor Thomas Ashe, joined Daniel Moen, president and CEO of the Sisters of Providence Health System (SPHS) in the dedication.

The $20 million, 75,000 square foot building was developed by Carew Chestnut Partners, which own it. The property was leased to the developers by SPHS, Mary Orr, communications and media specialist for Mercy Medical Center, explained. Weldon Rehabilitation Hospital’s outpatient rehabilitation programs, the Mercy Hearing Center and several Mercy-affiliated physician practices are housed in the building along with other medical practices and services.

Moen said the new building helps create a “new medical neighborhood,” and added, “For a lot of patients it will be one-stop shopping.”

Moen said, “It’s all about continuing the legacy of the Sisters of Providence.”

Most of the building is already at capacity for tenants, Moen said.

Andrew Henshon of Carew Chestnut partners said the building is the result of five years of planning. He noted it has its own solar panel array to produce electricity and has a “green” roof where vegetation grows.

Speaking on the status of health insurance, Neal emphasized the importance of Medicare and Medicaid and the differences those programs have made not only for patient care but the support of many hospitals across the nation.

“Without Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements, the lights would go out in these hospitals,” he said.

He noted that advances in healthcare have lengthened the average life span of Americans. In 1900, the average woman in this country lived to the age of 46, while the average man was 48. Today American women are living to an average age of 80 and the average man to 79.

Sarno praised the developers. “You’ve done a tremendous job. You’re really added to the aesthetic quality of the city of Springfield,” he said.