SYRACUSE — The current semester will be the last for Dr. Danielle Laraque-Arena as president of Upstate Medical University, announcing that she’ll step down from the position on Dec. 22.

SUNY will make a decision on interim leadership for the campus before Dec. 22, the system said in a Sept. 27 news release. During the spring semester, Laraque-Arena will be on “study leave,” SUNY said in the release, announcing a “leadership transition.” She’ll then return on June 7, 2019, to her position as a faculty member with a primary appointment within the department of pediatrics.

The announcement of Laraque-Arena’s decision comes weeks after the Albany Times-Union reported that the Onondaga County District Attorney’s office had start-ed a grand-jury probe of Upstate Medical University that’s focused on “hiring deci-sions, severance packages, and construc-tion projects,” according to a Sept. 7 article on the Times-Union website.

“Dr. Laraque-Arena came to SUNY as a world renowned pediatrician and researcher, and I am pleased that she will remain at Upstate Medical to inspire the next generation of doctors,” SUNY Chairman H. Carl McCall said in the SUNY news release. “My thanks to Dr. Laraque-Arena for her service as presi-dent to Upstate Medical, and her com-mitment to a seamless transition for the campus.”

“On behalf of SUNY, I wish Dr. Laraque-Arena well as she returns to pursue her passion in advancing global health and health-care disparities,” SUNY Chancellor Kristina Johnson said in the news release. “She is known for her advocacy for chil-dren, and those from low income house-holds deeply impacted by poverty. My best wishes to Dr. Laraque-Arena as she continues this important work.”

Mahoney involved
Joanie Mahoney, who begins her new duties as COO of SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry on Nov. 1, will assist the SUNY system on an interim basis with management matters at Upstate Medical University.

Mahoney announced her intentions to leave her job as Onondaga County Executive on Sept. 24.

In addition, clinical and health-care operations, including the interim CEO of Upstate University Hospital, will report to Dr. Ricardo Azziz, SUNY’s chief officer of academic health and hospital affairs.

Next for Laraque-Arena
While on “study leave,” Dr. Laraque-Arena will perform research and anal-ysis on the remediation of health-care disparities, children in the midst of war, and gender in medicine and the health professions. She will also provide recom-mendations to SUNY system concerning addressing the challenge of health dispari-ties in the upstate New York region.

Laraque-Arena will continue to be avail-able to SUNY to assist in the transition. She will receive her current salary during that time, SUNY said. After June 7, 2019, she will receive a salary consistent with her 2015 faculty appointment.

“Leading SUNY Upstate Medical University has been my distinct honor with the goal of achieving our mission as One University dedicated to the highest standard in academia and patient care, fo-cused on improving health disparities, and placing the highest value on excellence and inclusion,” Laraque-Arena said in the news release. “I am most proud of the revival of the heart & vascular program, our progress and expansion of many ser-vices—especially our Cancer Center, our deep commitment to quality, our efforts in violence prevention, and the creation of a new academic department of geriatrics. I have endeavored to lead this university with integrity, professionalism and innova-tion. I would like to thank all the staff and colleagues who have supported me dur-ing my tenure.” 

SYRACUSE — Nascentia Health, which specializes in home health-care services, on Sept. 19 formally opened its new operational headquarters at 1050 W. Genesee St. in Syracuse in an event that included an open house, speakers, and a ribbon cutting. 

Nascentia Health is the rebranded name of the organization that involves the “unification” of VNA Homecare, VNA Homecare Options, Home Aides of Central New York and all their respective affiliated organizations and foundations.

The $11 million construction project culminated with the demolition of the previous building and the completion of the parking lot and exterior courtyard this past August. The organization began operations in the new space this past January.

Nascentia Health works to be the “premier” home and community-based health and home-care system in the regions it serves, Kate Rolf, president and CEO of Nascentia Health, said to open her remarks at the grand opening event. 

“To accomplish that, we knew we needed this new home that would give us not only the space we need but allow us to operate more efficiently,” said Rolf. 

The Hayner Hoyt Corporation of Syracuse was the general contractor on the project. Syracuse–based King + King Architects designed the structure. Rolf also noted the contributions of Sedgwick Business Interiors for furniture design and products, along with Signage Systems of the town of Onondaga.

Nascentia’s former headquarters, built in 1921, was operating “beyond its intended lifespan and no longer met the system’s needs,” Nascentia said in a Sept. 20 news release.

Rolf told CNYBJ in an Oct. 9, 2017 article that the building had a “lot of structural issues.” In the same story about the organization’s plan for the new building, Rolf noted that the organization spent more than $200,000 to stabilize the structure. It had also sought total repair estimates. “It will cost just as much to fix this building [as it would] to get a new one and tear this one down,” Rolf said at the time.

In his remarks at the Sept. 19 grand opening, David Johnson, a member of the Nascentia Health board of directors, recalled the building assessment on the organization’s former 32,000-square-foot home, noting that the structure “had a few issues.” 

“Even if we renovated the existing building, it was going to be too small, so we knew we had to build this new building,” said Johnson, who is also a partner in King + King Architects.

Nascentia Health, which has a service area of 48 counties, has more than 550 employees.

The new 47,000-square-foot building includes an expanded lobby and waiting area, public and private elevators, community room, staff gym, outpatient physical therapy and occupational therapy suite, expanded eldercare social day program, exterior courtyard, and additional parking. Nascentia Health also allocated space for community use.