WellSpan to spend nearly $47 million on Ephrata hospital expansion

WellSpan Health will invest almost $47 million into a renovation and expansion project at WellSpan Ephrata Community Hospital in Lancaster County, it announced Friday.

The project cost is about $28.4 million, and WellSpan also will spend about $18.4 million to buy the Ephrata Health Pavilion building, which is adjacent to the hospital. It had been leasing the building since 2002.

Construction is expected to start this month and continue through late 2016.

In addition to work at the hospital, the project will expand the Ephrata Health Pavilion by more than 40 percent to about 98,000 square feet. Construction will occur on all three floors of the building, with all inpatient operating rooms moved to the pavilion to centralize all of the hospital’s surgical facilities to the pavilion’s second floor.

The expansion will include centralized surgical facilities, additional office space for physicians and advanced specialty care areas like two dedicated orthopedic operating rooms. Orthopedic procedures are in “high demand” at the hospital, according to a news release.

There will also be expanded facilities for storing, sterilizing and processing surgical supplies and a new loading dock for delivery and storage.

The expansion also provides space  in operating rooms for future additions of robotic-assisted surgery.

Ephrata Community Hospital joined York County-based health system WellSpan Health in 2013. Currently WellSpan is pursuing an affiliation with Good Samaritan Health System and Good Samaritan Hospital in Lebanon.

Source: Central Penn Business Journal