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| Artists' rendering from University of Louisville Health |
Officials say the $144 million project will include a seven-story tower with 20 new patient rooms, for a total of 360 private rooms at the hospital; four new operating rooms; a 24-bed observation unit to ease strain on the emergency department and reduce wait times; and a new lobby and waiting area, with renovations to the gift store and coffee shop.
Officials hope the expansion will be done by 2024. They said it will add 325 new jobs – nurses, clinical and nonclinical staff.
U of L Health CEO Tom Miller said Thursday the upgrades are much needed as more people seek specialty care at the region's only Level 1 trauma center. "Level 1 trauma centers provide the most comprehensive care for serious injuries that require a fast response, according to Medical News Today. They often have surgeons on staff 24 hours a day," WFPL reports.
“Every day this past year, 40 patients a day didn’t get a room in our hospitals [and] had to stay overnight in the emergency departments or in our recovery areas,” Miller said. “Today is the day to prioritize the health of this community. And I will tell you as an academic health care facility, we take that responsibility to heart.”
Gov. Andy Beshear, Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer, U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth and acting U of L President Lori Gonzalez also spoke at the news conference. Beshear praised U of L for its Covid-19 response and vaccine rollout.
“This expansion is great news for the commonwealth because you treat patients from all 120 counties,” Beshear said. “Now you’ll be able to serve even more people and hopefully we can put this pandemic behind us and then address so many challenges in health that afflict our people.”
U of L will pay for the project with its own funds, private donations and borrowing through tax-free bonds and revenue bonds, a news release said.
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