MAHONING COUNTY Official: New hospital will strengthen St. E's

HMHP also is spending millions to revamp its surgical suites at St. Elizabeth.
By WILLIAM K. ALCORN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
BOARDMAN -- St. Elizabeth Health Center in Youngstown is at capacity, and construction of a new acute-care hospital here will relieve that pressure and allow the creation of some private rooms at St. E's, a hospital official said.
At a news conference Monday, Bob Shroder, president and chief executive officer for Humility of Mary Health Partners, said the $77-million, 108-bed acute-care hospital in Boardman will strengthen St. Elizabeth Health Center over the long term.
The Youngstown hospital will remain the cornerstone institution of the HMHP network health-care facilities, Shroder said.
He said the Boardman hospital, like St. Joseph Health Center in Warren, will contribute to a significant increase in referrals for tertiary medical services at St. Elizabeth, which the hospital needs to survive financially.
Tertiary medical services, such as cardiothoracic, vascular, neurosurgery and trauma care, are not available at general hospitals, Shroder said.
He noted that the Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals in Cleveland have created networks of general hospitals that feed them with such referrals.
Shroder said the Boardman hospital will allow the creation of some private rooms at St. Elizabeth. All of the patient rooms at the new Boardman facility will be private, he added.
Shroder said the Boardman hospital is expected to meet demand for a decade. There is room for more expansion if necessary.
Upgrading surgical suites
At the same time as the new Boardman facility is being built -- ground will be broken early in 2005 and construction is expected to be complete by early 2007 -- HMHP is spending $8 million to $10 million to revamp its operating room surgical suites at the Youngstown hospital, Shroder said.
In addition to the new hospital, Shroder said that HMHP will build a medical building on HMHP's Boardman Campus at Market Street and McClurg Road. He said the medical building will house offices for physicians in private practice.
The Boardman hospital was located there because of the significant population growth in southern Mahoning County and northern Columbiana County, said Genie Aubel, senior vice president for Boardman and post-acute services.
As a result, those areas are from where the demand for services is coming. She said demand for services has exceeded expectations, noting that 60 percent of St. Elizabeth admissions are from southern Mahoning County and northern Columbiana County.
Shroder projected the Boardman Campus emergency department will receive between 21,000 and 22,000 visits this year. And, while the visits to the St. Elizabeth emergency room in Youngstown are down 6,000 for the year, the net gain will be between 14,000 and 15,000 visits, he said.
On the employment end, Shroder said about 400 of the 500 jobs on the Boardman Campus will be new, coming either from St. Elizabeth, other hospitals or the community at large.
Shroder said the Boardman hospital project will be financed internally.
alcorn@vindy.com