SOUTH BEND, Ind. (Inside INdiana Enterprise) — The president of Memorial Hospital in South Bend says the deliberate $232 million enlargement serves as a sign of dad or mum Beacon Well being System’s dedication to the town and its residents. Larry Tracy says when Beacon initiated a grasp facility plan course of in 2019, one choice was to construct a brand new hospital within the suburb of Granger in japanese St. Joseph County. In recent times, the well being system has constructed its company headquarters, a smaller eight-bed hospital, and a well being and health middle in that group.

In an interview with Inside INdiana Enterprise, Tracy mentioned regardless that there was obtainable house close to these properties, relocating away from the city middle was not an choice.

“It was the improper factor to do for the town of South Bend. It was the improper factor to do for our mission,” mentioned Tracy.

Memorial has been in South Bend for 129 years. In 2009, Memorial’s competitor, Saint Joseph Regional Medical Middle opened its new hospital in neighboring Mishawaka, leaving underserved populations with only one choice in South Bend.

“We deal with a few of the most susceptible populations in our area. And entry to care is extraordinarily vital for them,” mentioned Tracy. “As soon as we did that evaluation, it renewed our dedication to make this funding proper right here in South Bend.

Beacon Well being System says the mission consists of building of a 10-story story. It’ll additionally add a number of new flooring on high of a portion of its present footprint. The mission will lead to greater than 50 new affected person beds on high of its present 250 grownup mattress capability.

Tracy says increasing, as an alternative of setting up new, additionally presents cost-savings.

“This funding will get us a mattress tower. What it doesn’t get us is a brand new kitchen and a brand new Kids’s Hospital and all this stuff,” mentioned Tracy. “We have now quite a lot of infrastructure right here, that it will have exponentially pushed that price up. And fairly frankly, we didn’t suppose that was a prudent use of {dollars}.”
Beacon says the enlargement will create 500 new jobs, together with scientific and normal employees positions as soon as the mission is full.

Evaluation carried out by the South Bend Regional Chamber signifies the Memorial mission may have a greater than $400 million financial affect on the group when factoring in building, native employment beneficial properties and elevated financial exercise.

South Bend Regional Chamber President and Chief Govt Officer Jeff Rea instructed Inside INdiana Enterprise the $400 million estimate might be conservative since a few of the analysis was carried out previous to the pandemic. Since then, building and labor prices have elevated.

Rea says the Beacon mission is likely one of the largest personal investments the group has seen in a long time.

“We’re lucky to have a top-notch healthcare system. This funding continues to point out its dedication to the area,” mentioned Rea.

Tracy says the pandemic allowed the well being system to re-think this mission, which start within the spring of 2019.

On the time, the system was analyzing projected affected person volumes, an growing old inhabitants, and the sorts of sufferers it’d serve within the years forward.

“Then we bought a yr into the work and, ‘voila, now we have a pandemic.’ And, and whereas it slowed us down, as a result of clearly the emergent nature of coping with the pandemic, it additionally gave us a laboratory to grasp how this facility may very well be even higher to satisfy the wants 5,10, 20 plus years,” mentioned Tracy.

A part of the mission is already underway. Building crews should first renovate present affected person rooms on the sixth flooring affected person and mechanical system infrastructure.

Building on the brand new tower is scheduled to start in March 2023 with completion of all the mission in February 2026. Click on right here to be taught extra in regards to the mission.