Upstate University Hospital’s vision for its ambitious $450 million emergency room expansion includes closing a block of a key street connecting downtown Syracuse to the Syracuse University area.
In order to pull off the expansion, Upstate said it would require the closure of East Adams Street, between Elizabeth Blackwell Street and Irving Avenue so that it could connect its current emergency department to a new building. That building will include a new emergency department, a burn unit and an operating room.
Upstate officials believe connecting the buildings will decrease the time it takes to transfer patients to the emergency room and reduce mortality rates, according to a 27-page pitch document presented to lawmakers and obtained by Central Current…