WEST READING, Pa. — The Reading Hospital and Medical Center announced plans for a new 250,000-square-foot surgical building on the southwest corner of its main West Reading, Pa. campus. The expanded space will include 24 state-of-the-art surgical suites that will be designed and built to streamline operations and improve patient experiences.
At the annual open public meeting of The Reading Hospital and Medical Center Board of Directors, TRHMC President & CEO Clint Matthews outlined plans for the new surgical facility, which is expected to be completed by mid-2014. The $189-million project will be financed by operations, and is not expected to require outside financing.
“This new surgical facility allows The Reading Hospital and Medical Center to improve patient experiences by streamlining efficiencies and consolidate the geographic layout of our surgical operations,” Matthews said. “The entire project is being designed with input from doctors to create efficiencies, maximize best practices, and improve surgical throughput.”
The hospital’s existing 28 operating rooms are spread across five buildings. The project consolidates care for surgical inpatients and outpatients.
“Having input from the surgeons, nurses, and staff from the earliest stages of the planning process shows that we value professional input in decision-making,” said Robert A. Brigham, MD, Chair of the Hospital’s Department of Surgery. “Allowing this input and ownership in the process will help us continue to attract new and talented surgeons and medical professionals.”
The new building will adjoin the hospital’s newest clinical building – N-Building. This adjacency enables the existing Emergency Department and Trauma Center to be expanded by 21,000 square feet, a vital necessity for Pennsylvania’s highest volume emergency service department. It will also have a separate entrance to improve on-campus surgical patient experiences.
Architectural firm Ballinger is working closely with surgeons and operating room staff to finalize designs. Groundbreaking is slated for late 2011 or early 2012. Ballinger, of Philadelphia, specializes in healthcare facilities, and provided the architectural design for N-Building.
