Exeter Hospital's 'Synergy' Center Closing Until 2014

this week announced it will close its Synergy Health & Fitness center in December for a huge renovation.

The center will reopen in the spring of 2014, the hospital said in a letter to the roughly 3,000 members who use the facility. The letter can be found to the right under "PDFs."

The hospital said it will continue offering Synergy services – like a well-being program for cancer patients – at other locations on the Exeter Hospital campus while the Synergy center is closed.

The hospital said 86 employees – including five full-time, 27 part-time, and 53 per diem ones – will be affected. "Some" could transfer to other jobs at the hospital, officials said. The hospital will help the others find jobs elsewhere – and if those employees don't find work by Dec. 1 the hospital will continue to pay salary and benefits. Those staff members will be given first preference to get their original jobs back when the hosptial reopens.

The hospital said it will transform Synergy Health & Fitness into a "comprehensive musculoskeletal center of excellence" by putting services like orthopaedics, neurology, and rehab services under one roof.

Exeter Hospital made news last week it a hepatitis C outbreak in one of its labs infected four patients. Hospital officials said the outbreak had nothing to do with their decision to renovate the Synergy Center.

Below is a news release the hospital put together about the Synergy situation:

In response to the Seacoast region’s growing demand for
musculoskeletal services, Exeter Health Resources is pleased to announce planning for the future opening of a comprehensive musculoskeletal center. The Synergy Health & Fitness building, located on the campus of Exeter Hospital, will undergo major renovations and will be the future location of the center, which will be modeled after some of the best in the country.

By offering clinical specialty services including orthopaedics, podiatry, rheumatology, neurology, neurosurgery, comprehensive rehabilitation; and alternative medicine, the musculoskeletal center will focus on effectively and efficiently evaluating and treating bone, joint, and muscle conditions. Synergy will continue to offer medically-based fitness programs.

Major renovations are expected to begin in December of 2012 and take approximately 14 months.

Regretfully, to accomplish this goal we will need to temporarily close the Synergy building to the general public as of December 1 and throughout the construction period. We expect to reopen to the general public in the spring of 2014.

We recognize this temporary closure will present an inconvenience and disruption to our loyal members, but after thoughtful planning and consideration of alternatives, we determined it makes the most sense to keep the center centrally located on the hospital campus in close proximity to
our other clinical service areas. All of the approximately 3,000 Synergy members were notified this week about the temporary closure in a letter that was mailed to their homes.

Patient related services currently provided in the Synergy building, including acupuncture, massage, nutrition, cancer Well-fit program, cardiac rehabilitation, and physical/occupational rehabilitation (AthletiCare) will be temporarily relocated to another building on the Exeter Hospital campus during the construction period.

Approximately 5 full time, 27 part time, and 53 per diem Synergy staff will be impacted by the temporary closure on December 1. These staff members have received six months notice, during which time they will be provided with extensive job search assistance. Some of the impacted staff may be able to transfer to positions elsewhere in the organization. After the December 1
closing date, we will provide salary and benefits continuation for a set period of time to those who have not secured another position. Current Synergy staff will have first rights of re- employment when the facility reopens.

The new services offered by the musculoskeletal center, including fitness and wellness programming, will be an important resource and significant benefit for patients, staff and the community. This project supports our mission of striving to improve the health of the communities we serve and allows us to help meet a growing demand for future health and wellness needs in the Seacoast region.