By JASMINE GOMEZ

A local civic group in the east Bronx has recognized Montefiore Medical Center for its outreach efforts.

The Westchester Square Civic Association, headed by neighborhood resident Lou Rocco, honored Roberto S. Garcia, Senior Director of Community Relations for Montefiore Medical Center and Mark Brutus, the hospital’s Director of Engineering, for taking significant steps towards making community-conscious improvements to the hospital’s Westchester Square campus.

“I am very grateful to Montefiore because of what they did as a community-oriented hospital. We brought our plight to them and they immediately took response,” said Lou Rocco, president of the Westchester Square Civic Association.

Garcia, who doubles as the Executive Director of the Mosholu Preservation Corporation, said he was “extremely flattered” to have received the recognition.

“In my role as the Senior Director of Community Relations, it was important that we work together to come to a solution to the problems and the concerns that the community raised,” said Garcia, who joined other officials for a tour of the facility.

When Montefiore purchased the former Westchester Square Medical Center in March 2013 to convert it into the state’s first free-standing emergency room, they also inherited a series of problems that included a noisy hospital-owned generator. Residents were unhappy with the constant noise and air pollution, with some worried that the fumes expelled from the generator could exacerbate their asthma. The hospital, when it was acquired, also featured an outdated laboratory and flawed electrical and plumbing equipment, making the hospital appear dingy and past its prime.

When Montefiore purchased Westchester Square Medical Center they had several goals in mind: to invest in a location that would preserve both healthcare access and job opportunities for Westchester Square community residents, and plans to expand clinical services beyond the emergency room such as access to primary care.

Montefiore has since updated the facility ten-fold, having created more than 200 jobs, expanded its services to include a sleep center, a brand new CAT scan room, a renovated laboratory, and a brand new sound barrier door and cap for its generator.

Upgrades at the Montefiore Westchester Square campus will continue as the hospitals expects to complete renovations to its radiology department soon, and hopes to expand services to include primary care access by the end of the year.

“Whenever you have a new organization that goes into a community like Montefiore did when we acquired Westchester Square, it was extremely important for us to continue to develop the relationship with the community and community-based organizations and civic associations to force the good will and compromise and relationships,” said Garcia.