ST. ELIZABETH Humility of Mary to build acute-care hospital at campus

Construction is expected to begin in summer 2005.
By WILLIAM K. ALCORN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
BOARDMAN -- Humility of Mary Health Partners plans to build a four-story, 108-bed, $77 million acute-care hospital on its St. Elizabeth Health Center Boardman Campus at the corner of Market Street and McClurg Road.
Construction is expected to begin in summer 2005 with an opening date about two years after that, HMHP officials said today. All hospital patient rooms will be private with their own bathrooms and showers, and they also will offer in-room Internet access.
The new hospital, which will be connected to the current emergency and diagnostic center, will have 96 beds for medical or surgical patients, a 12-bed intensive care unit, and five operating suites.
When it has reached its expected occupancy, the Boardman campus will have about 500 full-time employees.
Design
HMHP will seek input from physicians and the community in the near future in the design planning for the Boardman hospital, said Bob Shroder, president and chief executive officer for HMHP. Officials said the Boardman hospital will be the first new acute-care inpatient facility built in the area since 1958, when the former Warren General Hospital, now St. Joseph Health Center, was built.
The new Boardman facility, which has not yet been named, will have a modern design that emphasizes the comfort and convenience of patients and their families while accommodating the latest in clinical technology and information systems, Shroder said.
The HMHP board made the commitment to build a hospital in Boardman because there are many physicians with offices in that area and the population is growing, he said.
"A hospital in Boardman will provide convenient access for medical and surgical inpatient services. We are pleased to be able to meet the need for hospital care in southern Mahoning and northern Columbiana counties," Shroder said.
St. Elizabeth's in Youngstown will continue to be the cornerstone of HMHP's health-care network of hospitals, which includes St. Joseph's in Warren and the Boardman Campus, officials said.
They anticipate that the new hospital will contribute to a significant increase in referrals to St. Elizabeth for medical services such as cardiothoracic, vascular, neurosurgery, and trauma care.
Boardman campus
HMHP began developing its St. Elizabeth Boardman Campus in the late 1990s with a cancer center. A 24-hour emergency room opened in 2001 was replaced with a new building in 2003 that offers emergency and diagnostic services as well as emergency care.
Also opened on the campus in 2003 was the D.D. & amp; Velma Davis YMCA and the St. Elizabeth Wellness Center, a partnership between HMHP and the YMCA of Youngstown.
HMHP is an integrated health system that also includes Humility of Mary Home Health Services, The Assumption Village, Humility House and Hospice of the Valley.
alcorn@vindy.com