Thomas Breen photo
150 Sargent Dr.
Flooding concerns on Long Wharf? The city, and Yale New Haven Hospital (YNHH), are both on the case.
Yale New Haven Hospital (YNHH) Director of Strategy & Regulatory Planning Jeryl Topalian delivered that flood-proofing promise to the state Office of Health Strategy (OHS) on Monday afternoon in a new 61-page submission regarding the hospital’s planned relocation of its primary care services to a single building at 150 Sargent Dr.
The new primary care project, to be run in collaboration with Fair Haven Community Health Care and the Cornell Scott Hill Health Center, is called the New Haven Primary Care Consortium (NHPCC).
Topalian told state regulators at the end of March that the primary care center transition had been delayed from fall 2019 to summer 2020 because of previously unforeseen flood-proofing requirements for the building, which is in one of the most flood-vulnerable sections of the city.
On March 22, state Hearing Officer Michaela Mitchell asked the hospital to provide more details on the flooding history of 150 Sargent Dr. before the state makes a final decision on whether or not to approve the primary care move.
Topian’s response on Monday cites both the city’s development and coastal resiliency plans for the neighborhood, as part of the recently completed Long Wharf Responsible Growth Plan, as well as specific flood-proofing strategies the hospital will undertake to make sure 150 Sargent Dr. is protected from a near future of ever-rising sea levels and storm surges.
Topalian also noted that the building has not once been flooded in the past decade, even during Tropical Storm Irene in 2011 and Superstorm Sandy in 2012.
Click here to download a full copy of the hospital’s response.
“The Long Wharf area of New Haven is a vibrant part of the city that is the subject of significant investment and development,” Topalian wrote in reference to city-led efforts to insulate the neighborhood from the hazardous effects of climate change. “The area currently includes significant businesses, including IKEA, Jordan’s Furniture, Assa Abloy, and the Regional Water Authority, as well as restaurants, a hotel and other commercial ventures. It is also the home to the Long Wharf Theatre. The City of New Haven has plans to expand development in the area and to establish it as a dynamic mixed-use district with new housing, parks, and other commercial development. ”
As for the Yale New Haven’s own plans for floodproofing the building, Topalian wrote, the hospital has already engaged an architect to implement such measures as the implementation of “fluid-applied waterproofing membrane to an elevation of 13.86 NAVD88, which is in excess of the required flood-proofing to 12 NAVD88, as well as installation of flood barrier doors, elevation of the entrance vestibule floor, and installation of insulated flood vents.”
Because 150 Sargent sits within a 1 percent annual chance floodplain on the city’s coast, she wrote, the hospital will have to acquire a Floodplain Development Permit from the city in order to implement said improvements. It will also need to submit a Coastal Site Plan application to the City Plan department.
“As noted above,” she wrote, “YNHH was not aware of these additional permitting requirements until earlier this year and its original timeline for renovations of the 150 Sargent Drive site had not included time for the additional permitting process. As noted in our response to OHS’s order dated March 18, 2019, this timeline for the overall project has been revised to an anticipated transition date in late summer 2020.”
In the past decade, Topalian reiterated, the building at 150 Sargent has incurred no flood-related damages. The peak storm surge for Tropical Storm Irene was 7.93 NAVD88 and the peak storm surge for Superstorm Sandy was 9.13 NAVD88. The building’s current first floor elevation is 11.86 NAVD88
“During the last ten (10) years, YNHH has never had to close the site, nor were there any service disruptions due to flooding,” she wrote. “During each of the significant storms (Irene and Sandy), the parking lot at 150 Sargent Drive experienced some ponding but not to an extent that the site could not be accessed. During Superstorm Sandy, some adjacent roadways were flooded; however, because the site has multiple access points (it can be accessed from Sargent Drive and also from Church Street), access was still available from the north and northwest (via Union Avenue and Church Street).”
Topalian wrote the hospital plans to submit its permitting and site plan applications to the city by April 18 for review at the May 15 City Plan Commission meeting.
UberASSIST Contract In The Works
The state had also asked the hospital to provide a list of Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)-compliant transportation vendors that the hospital has considered partnering with in order to ensure that handicapped patients who do not have their own private cars are able to reach primary care appointments at the relatively isolated location on Long Wharf.
Topalian said that the hospital conducted a survey of over 2,500 current primary care patients and found that roughly two-thirds got to their doctor appointments at by private car. The new site will service those patients’ needs by providing free on-site parking, she wrote.
For those patients with disabilities currently rely on public transportation, she said, the hospital evaluated the CTtransit bus system, for which all buses have “wheelchair lifts or ramps for access by persons with disabilities. Buses can also ‘kneel’ to lower the first step height.”
The hospital also evaluated various ADA-accessible ride sharing services, such as UberASSIST, as well as specialized transportation providers, such as Veyo, the Greater New Haven Transit District (GNHTD), and Coordinated Transportation Solutions (CTS).
“UberASSIST is a program that has been successfully implemented in other parts of the country and provides extra assistance for patients with special transportation needs,” she wrote, “including those with disabilities, seniors, and pregnant women. Drivers are required to take an online course and drive a vehicle that can accommodate an assistive device, such as a folding wheelchair or collapsible scooter.”
Topalian wrote that the hospital and UberASSIST are currently working through the terms of a new contract, which they anticipate finalizing several months before the transition of primary care services to 150 Sargent Dr. in summer 2020
“Uber has informed YNHH that UberASSIST has been implemented in fifteen cities across the United States,” she continued, “and that it is confident that it will be able to implement the program in Greater New Haven area in time for the transition of services to 150 Sargent Drive.”
“The combination of ample free parking,” Topalian concluded, “public transportation that is ADA-compliant, the ride-sharing program including Uber ASSIST, and the services of Veyo, medical taxis and other specialized modes of transportation noted above will ensure that there are not barriers to access at 150 Sargent Drive.”
The state must now decide whether or not to grant the hospital a Certificate of Need (CON) to allow YNHH to terminate existing primary care services downtown, in Dwight, and in Hamden and move them all over to the Long Wharf building.
Previous articles about the proposed New Haven Primary Care Consortium:
• Plan Reimagines Primary Care For Poor
• Primary Plan’s Obstacle: Broken Bus System
• Primary Care Move Delayed To 2020
• Primary Care Plan: Shuttle Out, Uber In
• Farwell Questions Primary Care Move’s Impact On Poor
• West River Questions Primary Care Move
• Harp Backs Primary Care Move
Below are Facebook Live videos of portions of last fall’s public hearing, and of an interview earlier this year with Lagarde and Taylor on WNHH’s “Dateline New Haven.”