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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PR- 129-05
April 5, 2005

MAYOR MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG AND FIRE COMMISSIONER NICHOLAS SCOPPETTA CUT RIBBON FOR NEW EMS STATION AT KINGS COUNTY HOSPITAL

$4.2 Million Facility in Wingate Funded by City’s Health and Hospitals Corporation

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta, Department of Design and Construction (DDC) Commissioner David Burney, AIA, and Health and Hospital Corporation (HHC) Acting President Dr. Alan Aviles today cut the ribbon to officially open a newly constructed facility for EMS Station 38 in Wingate, Brooklyn.  The state-of-the-art 6,100 square foot station is located at on the campus of Kings County Hospital. The City's Department of Design and Construction (DDC) created the master design plans and oversaw construction at the new EMS station. The initial design work began in March 2004 and construction was completed this month.  The $4.2 million station will serve the communities of Crown Heights, Prospect Heights, Lefferts Gardens and Wingate.

"EMS is New York's first line of defense for medical emergencies," said Mayor Bloomberg. "It is essential that our EMTs and Paramedics have the best training and facilities available.  This new state-of-the-art station will be a vital link between the 100 first responders who will use the facility and the people of Central Brooklyn who they will serve. This project was a group effort between the community, Kings County Hospital, HHC, FDNY and DDC and I want to thank all of them for working together to get this project done. 

The new facility can accommodate up to six ambulances as well as outdoor off-street parking for 16 employees and a 2,500-gallon (below grade) fuel tank. In addition, the interior space also includes a supervisor's office, Advance Life Support and Basic Life Support supply rooms, a break area, storage for oxygen tanks and vehicle fluids and locker facilities and bathrooms for 100 employees. 

The station will act as a hub for the six emergency medical units assigned there.  Crews will be able to restock their ambulances with life-saving medical supplies such as oxygen and medications to treat asthma, seizures and cardiac conditions. The station will also provide a decontamination area where medical personal can safely clean and disinfect and decontaminate clothing and medical supplies.

There are 28 EMS stations and three outposts located throughout the five boroughs. Since the 1996 merger of the Fire Department and EMS, 15 EMS stations have been opened.  Prior to the opening of the Wingate station, this area of Brooklyn was serviced by units stationed at EMS station 58 on East 83rd Street and station 44 on Rockaway Avenue.

"The Emergency Medical Service has had presence in this community for decades and this new station reaffirms our commitment to the residents of this neighborhood," said Commissioner Scoppetta.  "This new facility will help the FDNY's EMS Command to provide the best pre-hospital emergency medical services to the citizens of this community.  By deploying units from this location we are able to offer improved ambulance coverage in Wingate and other Brooklyn Communities."

"This new EMS facility on the grounds of Kings County Hospital will enable HHC to continue to strengthen its partnership with the Emergency Medical Service of the Fire Department of New York and will insure that together we continue to provide the most prompt response possible to medical emergencies in Central Brooklyn," said Acting President Aviles.

"Kings County Hospital Center's partnership with the Fire Department of New York City to bring this new Emergency Medical Service Station on the hospital's campus will certainly translate into better coordination of emergency and trauma services to the people of Central Brooklyn and beyond," said  Jean G. Leon, executive director of Kings County Hospital Center "Having this new station on-site will also create a closer working relationship between EMS and hospital staff, while providing more emergency care training opportunities for EMS personnel."

"This was an important project for the Department of Design and Construction because the critical work of the medical professionals who will use it has such a direct benefit to the community," said DDC Commissioner David Burney, AIA. "We are proud of our role in building this facility and proud of our work with the Fire Department as they meet their mission of providing a rapid response to people facing health emergencies."

The project was administered by The Department of Design and Construction. The architectural firm of Beyan Karahan and Associates designed the facility and the LiRO Group provided construction management.







MEDIA CONTACT:


Edward Skyler/Robert Lawson   (212) 788-2958

Francis X. Gribbon   (Fire Department)
(718) 999-2025

Matt Monahan   (Department of Design and Construction)
(718) 391-1641

Kate McGrath   (Health and Hospital Corporation)
(212) 788-3386




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