A bad economy and dwindling patient numbers aren't scaring every hospital away from major capital improvement projects.
Lankenau Hospital, based in Wynnewood, Pa., is beginning a $529 million expansion. Besides renovating the current 331-bed medical center, parent company Main Line Health plans to build a 96-bed patient-care pavilion and add a 1,300-car parking garage, the Philadelphia Business Journal reports.
The campus, which will include research and medical training facilities, will be called Lankenau Medical Center, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Jack Lynch, president and CEO of Main Line Health, called the work part of a renaissance of Lankenau's campus. Lankenau will convert some double rooms to singles, bringing the total number of beds to 386.
According to Alan Zuckerman, president of Health Strategies & Solutions, over the last six months, hospital building projects have started to bubble up again.
The project will be funded mostly through cash reserves, a capital campaign that will cover less than 10 percent of the bill and debt of about $30 million. Part of the upgrades will expand facilities, adding a new comprehensive breast center, a cardiac ICU, inpatient dialysis, ED renovations, and CT/MRI renovations.
The new pavilion will contain private patient rooms designed to be comfortable and safe for patients and family. At 325 square feet, they will be big enough to teach herds of new doctors and house in-room computers.
To learn more:
- see a simulation of the master facility plan
- read the Philadelphia Inquirer's story
- here's the Philadelphia Business Journal's story