Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Staff report
NEW CASTLE, Pa.
Jameson Health System plans to expand its emergency room and add new operating rooms at its north campus.
Work on the $15 million project is expected to start in the fall and take 18 to 24 months to complete. The emergency room will remain open during construction.
Jim Aubel, chief financial officer of Jameson, said the emergency room was built in the 1960s and is inadequate for the 40,000 patients seen there each year.
The expansion will double the size to 16,000 square feet and add 30 new patient rooms.
The second story of the addition will house a new operating area with six new operating rooms and two labs for gastrointestinal procedures. Jameson now has nine operating rooms.
The project has been awarded a $1 million Redevelopment Assistance Grant through the state. The grant required matching funds from the health system.
Aubel said another grant application for an additional $1 million is pending.
For the rest of the financing, Jameson will use internal financing, including $3.6 million that was raised in a capital campaign over the last several years, and loans, he added.