The Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University plans to open its new $200 million research pavilion on Thursday.

The five-story Michael F. Price Center for Genetic and Translational Medicine/Harold and Muriel Block Research Pavilion is the largest medical research facility built in the Bronx since the medical college opened in 1955, school officials said. Featuring state-of-the-art laboratories, the building will house work space for 40 research teams and about 400 employees. It also has a 100-seat auditorium. The school broke ground on the project in 2004.

Researchers plan to study gene therapy and human genetics, cell transplantation, infectious diseases, and the genetics and biology of cancer, among other things.

The $25 million gift from Michael Price and the $21 million gift from Muriel Block are among the two largest gifts in the school’s history, school officials said.

$35 Million To Fight Diabetes

The New York State Health Foundation has launched a $35 million statewide campaign against diabetes.

Focusing on three areas, the campaign seeks to improve the quality of primary care among diabetics, mobilize communities to prevent and manage the disease, and promote prevention strategies.

“It is essential that we change diabetes is addressed right now,” the president and chief executive officer of the foundation, James Knickman, said in a statement. Linking patients to primary care services will be a major focus of the campaign.

About 1.5 million New Yorkers suffer from diabetes, including 73,000 city residents who were diagnosed between 2002 and 2004.

1,584 New ‘Assisted Living’ Slots are approved

The state’s Department of Health has approved 1,584 new assisted living beds, the largest expansion in more than a decade, the agency said.

The increase, which represents a 40% increase from the current availability, will add beds in facilities for senior citizens. The slots were awarded to facilities statewide. In a statement, the state’s health commissioner, Dr. Richard Daines, said the agency was “committed to exploring alternatives to nursing home care for people who are capable of living in the community with supportive services.”

But the approval of the assisted living beds is also part of a larger effort to evaluate housing options for the elderly in New York. The state is offering an additional $30 million in grants to nursing homes seeking to “right size” or restructure their facilities.

Hospital Association Names New Chairman

The Greater New York Hospital Association has named James Foy as chairman of its board of governors.

Mr. Foy currently serves as president and chief executive officer of Riverside Health Care System, a $250 million network of three hospital sites, including St. John’s Riverside in Yonkers. Previously, he held senior management positions at Catholic Medical Center of Brooklyn and Queens, Inc., where he served as executive vice president between 1990 and 1993.

In his new role, Mr. Foy will help to direct projects and advocacy efforts for the 280-member trade group.

St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Names VP

St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital has named as executive vice president and chief operating officer a former unit nurse and surveyor for the Joint Commission, Timothy Day.

Mr. Day, who was a surveyor between 1997 and 2007, previously held various administrative positions at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt. Between 1982 and 1987, he served as assistant nursing care coordinator in the department of medicine. Most recently, he served as senior vice president for administration.

“Tim’s early years as a unit nurse provided him with valuable, hands-on experience and a clinical practitioner’s approach to problem solving,” the hospital’s president and chief executive officer, Frank Cracolici, said in a statement.

St. Luke’s-Roosevelt is part of the Continuum Health Partners hospital network, which also includes Beth Israel Medical Center and Long Island College Hospital.