Montefiore Medical Center's integrated health system, already spanning 130 locations, is about to get even bigger. On Nov. 3rd, Montefiore opens its new Ambulatory Surgical Care Center in the Bronx, a 300,000 sq. foot "bedless hospital." Patients arrive in the morning, leave in the afternoon, and do not stay overnight.

What does this mean for Westchester? Big things, it turns out. 

"New trends in healthcare and real estate are intersecting," said Marissa Brett, president, Westchester County Association. "As new, safer treatments and procedures become more commonplace, and the healthcare industry streamlines cost, a tremendous opportunity has presented itself for the real estate industry to repurpose existing assets in Westchester. We have the players, the capital, and the space to build the physical plants that modern healthcare requires. "

Ed Pfleging, vice president of facilities and real estate at Montefiore Medical Center echoes what Brett says.

"Of the 38,000 cases in our operating rooms each year, 23,000 are ambulatory. The new operating rooms in the ambulatory care center will provide capacity at our other hospitals for [more complex,] higher-end surgical procedures, and allow us to regionalize. This reduces costs through economies of scale."

Brett agreed, noting that recent news reports about the uptick in healthcare activity in Westchester's commercial real estate market signaled a trend that experts expect to continue.

"We're seeing more adaptive reuse in Westchester, transforming older office space into medical practices, labs, and research facilities," said Brett. "Through the ongoing work of our BLUEPRINT for Westchester and healthcare consortium, as well as events such as our Health Tech conferences, we will continue to advocate for economic growth through healthcare."