By Staff
MISHAWAKA, Ind. – Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center began pouring the foundation for its new, 633,000-square foot facility on its 90-acre site in Edison Lakes on Wednesday.
The facility will provide a state-of-the-art diagnostic and treatment platform, 254 inpatient beds, and medical office buildings.
A ground blessing ceremony has been set for Sunday, March 19, at the site of the new facility, which is located about 12 miles from Niles.
Bishop John D'Arcy will preside over the ceremony, which is part of a daylong agenda of activities the hospital is hosting, commemorating the Feast of St. Joseph. The ground blessing ceremony will begin at 3 p.m.
"The Edison Lakes Campus is just one part of Saint Joseph's regional commitment to bring exceptional primary care to the neighborhoods and deliver highly efficient acute care in a facility designed to give physicians the best conditions to practice world-class medicine," said Nancy R. Hellyer, Saint Joseph's President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO). "Our strategic plan remains more focused on building a culture than simply building a building."
The $355-million facility will be at the forefront of patient care, designed to meet the community's healthcare challenges and changes of the 21st century.
"This project is an example of Trinity Health's commitment in the communities it serves," said Joseph R. Swedish, President and CEO of Trinity Health.
Trinity Health, which operates Saint Joseph and 44 other hospitals in the United States, is the nation's fourth largest Catholic healthcare system.
M.A. Mortenson Construction of Minneapolis will oversee construction of the project. The architects are Hellmuth, Obata, and Kassabaum (HOK) from the firm's St. Louis site. ADAMS Project Management of Rome, Georgia, will oversee project management.
Construction will take three years and service will continue at Saint Joseph's existing facilities during this time. Acute services in downtown South Bend and Mishawaka will completely transition to the new facility once it opens, which is scheduled for fall 2009.
"Saint Joseph is committed to providing Catholic health care to residents of these regions," Hellyer said. "We will maintain a strong presence in each of these main cities with physician offices and clinics and through the use of our Mobile Medical Unit, which we will be unveiling soon."
Saint Joseph's mission calls for it to protect the environment and it continues to be very diligent in handling all existing properties for future use. Saint Joseph also continues to cooperate with the neighborhoods and businesses throughout the Main Street Corridor to insure convenience and efficiency once construction begins.
For more information, please visit Saint Joseph's new Web site, www.mynewhospital.org, which is devoted entirely to providing information about the new facility.