Jewish Hospital $80 million expansion nearly complete, new patient tower rises
New medical staff area and inpatient rehab unit already finished while officials plan to open the new tower in May.
Construction of a new patient tower at Jewish Hospital in Kenwood, Ohio -- part of an $80 million expansion -- is close to being completed, with hospital officials claiming it's about 75 percent finished.
The skeleton of the building has now been erected, and is expected to be fully operational by May.
Other renovations have already been completed, including a medical staff area as well as a new acute inpatient rehab unit. Meanwhile, hospital spokesperson Nanette Bailey said the post-anesthesia care unit and four new operating rooms are about three-quarters of the way done.
The new patient tower, facing Galbraith Road, will encompass about 154,000 square feet, with a helicopter pad installed on the roof for emergency patient transport.
[Also: Cancer centers spur construction across U.S.]
The number of beds will stay fixed at 207, but all of the patient rooms will be made private.
Additionally, the expansion will yield a new main entrance and emergency department on the first floor; the second floor will be for ambulatory surgery, while the third floor will be home to the blood and marrow transplant center for cancer patients. The fifth floor will be occupied by the orthopedic and neurological departments.
Jewish Hospital is the 10th largest facility in the greater Cincinnati area, with total expenses of more than $208 million in the most recently reported fiscal year, according to research by Business Courier.
The Jewish Foundation sold the hospital to Mercy Health in 2010 for $180 million with the understanding that the money would be invested in the facility and its services.
[Also: Health centers score $500 million from HHS to expand services, fund construction]
In 2014, the Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati donated $10 million to Mercy Health to expand the emergency department at the hospital and a graduate medical education program based there. Another $6 million was donated by the foundation for an endowment to fund the program itself. The combined $16 million donation was the largest ever received by Mercy Health.
The Kenwood facility, built in 1960, was originally known as the Otto C. Epp Memorial Hospital. That name was changed when Jewish Hospital acquired the site in 1988. The original Avondale location of Jewish Hospital, established in 1850, shut its doors in 1997.
