Bayhealth announces new $250M health campus in Milford

MILFORD – Bayhealth Medical Center hopes to break ground on a new $250 million health campus along Del. 1 in Milford by fall 2015, state and local officials announced Tuesday.

The new 150-acre health campus, which is expected to open for patients in 2018, will house 163 single-patient rooms, increased physician and out-patient services as well as expanded diagnostic testing.

"This health campus will change lives in Delaware," said Bayhealth CEO Terry Murphy during a press conference at the Carlisle Fire Hall in Milford with Gov. Jack Markell and local health officials.

Officials expect the project will bring at least 100 new construction jobs to the area and increase health care staff, making way for high-paying jobs and economic growth.

"From my perspective this is just a win on so many levels," Markell said. "There's no question that the people in this area deserve the best for health care and I know that this new campus is going to enable them to receive it. From an economic development perspective you can't imagine what a selling point it is whether you talk to businesses about where they are going go locate, where they are going to hire."

Originally the project was pegged as a "replacement" project, with new construction completely replacing Bayhealth's 22-acre Milford Memorial Hospital campus on Clarke Avenue in downtown Milford.

Philadelphia architectural and engineering firm, EwingCole, was initially chosen as the designer for that project, but Bayhealth officials said the expanded campus will require a new design plan. They expect to choose an architect soon.

Michael Metzing, vice president of Bayhealth's corporate services, said engineers and hospital officials thought a new health campus along Del. 1 would foster not only the growth of the hospital, but growth in the community.

They debated between 15 sites before deciding on a construction site along Wilkins Road and Cedar Creek Road off Del. 1 in Milford.

"It affords us the greatest opportunity long-term," Metzing said.

Plans for the new campus spring-boarded off a 2012 University of Delaware study entitled "Planning for Complete Communities in Delaware", which looked at how communities can thrive with changing population and infrastructure. For Milford, the report touched on revitalizing the downtown area as well as the growing aging population.

Population experts estimate that by 2030, the aging population in Sussex County will double. Murphy said that new hospital would be able to accommodate the need for additional geriatric physicians and more specialty programs tailored to the Medicare-ready population.

"We are going to have much more flexibly with this site to grow and expand," he said.

Bayhealth Medical Center has been a mainstay for downstate Delaware since the early 1920s. Health officials opened Kent General Hospital in Dover in 1927 and Milford Memorial Hospital in 1938.

Bayhealth's 22-acre Milford Memorial Hospital campus on Clarke Avenue in downtown Milford has grown to house an orthopedic care center, 24-hour emergency department, in-patient rehab center and cancer center among other services. There are about 800 employees primarily stationed at the Milford hospital.

Both the Milford and Dover Bayhealth campuses, including Kent General, also partner with the University of Pennsylvania to offer telemedicine services as well as cancer and cardiovascular care.

The downtown Milford campus is licensed for 163 beds, but Murphy said most of those rooms are doubled-up. On the new campus, those 163 beds will specifically be used as private rooms.

"We think moving to all private rooms and focusing on how much patients have at their control at the bedside and how do you make it comfortable for patients and their families will make it a very unique place to receive care in the long-run," Murphy said.

Though the hospital is not increasing its bedcount, Murphy said he is not worried about overcrowding. Preliminary designs envision the hospital with seven stories, with floors that could be re-purposed to handle an influx of patients.

"We believe it's a forward thinking solution needed to build healthier families in this growing region," Murphy said.

Downtown Milford Memorial Hospital will still be a full-service hospital during the entire process. Bayhealth officials said they will work with the community to decide how the old hospital campus will be adapted.

Bayhealth will host organized town halls to engage community members in the entire process, said Michael Ashton, Milford Memorial Hospital's facility administrator. All information will be available on www.imaginede.com, a new website showcasing the phases of the hospital plan.

"These are the patients and families we serve every day," Ashton said. "We want to hear from you and more importantly we need to hear from you."

Source: Delaware Online