Renovation and Expansion Planned for Medical Center

MINNEAPOLIS, June 6 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) plans to add more inpatient beds, renovate a significant portion of its downtown facility, and replace a community outpatient clinic as part of the first phase of a major renovation and expansion project.

The Hennepin County Board on Tuesday approved allocation of $80 million in general obligation bond support for projects that will address the steady increase in outpatient care as well as the need for significant renovation and expansion of inpatient units for critical care patients on the downtown campus. Specifically, the first phase of the project includes:

   —  Reconfiguring and renovating units expanding the downtown campus to       concentrate inpatient medical and surgical units into two buildings,       add 58 inpatient beds, and create more private and semi-private rooms    —  Replacing a clinic in South Minneapolis    —  Acquiring land downtown for a new outpatient facility near the       downtown campus   

“We recognize the need for our patients to have easier, more convenient access to our services, and this addresses that need both downtown and at our largest clinic in the community,” said Mike Harristhal, Vice President of Public Policy and Strategy. “We are just completing a technology upgrade with the installation of the electronic health record and now it’s time to bring our physical facilities to state-of-the-art.”

The Family Medical Center on West Lake Street was originally designed to accommodate approximately 20,000 patient visits per year, but now the clinic sees nearly three times that number. Plans to move the clinic and/or build a new clinic are included in phase one of the expansion project.

The reconfiguration and renovation of the inpatient units on the downtown campus will lead to construction of a new outpatient clinic and education facility downtown in phase two of the capital project.

The expansion and renovation projects are part of an integrated master facility plan and strategic and financial plan endorsed by the Hennepin Healthcare System, Inc. Board of Directors. They build on recent improvements made to the downtown campus, including renovation and expansion of the Acute Psychiatric Services unit (2006) and opening a new Emergency Express Care unit (2007).

“It’s the right thing to do, and the right time to do it,” says Harristhal. “With more people choosing to live and work downtown it’s our priority to improve our facilities to meet those needs, and to be able to continue to serve the entire community at our other clinics in Minneapolis and the suburbs.”

HCMC is a nationally recognized Level 1 Trauma Center with the largest emergency department in Minnesota. The comprehensive academic medical center and public teaching hospital includes a 424-bed acute care hospital and primary care and specialty clinics located in downtown Minneapolis, and four primary care clinics in Minneapolis and suburban Hennepin County.

For the tenth year in a row, HCMC is listed in the U.S. News & World Report rankings of the top U.S. Hospitals in its annual “America’s Best Hospitals” report.

Hennepin County Medical Center

CONTACT: Tom Hayes of Hennepin County Medical Center, +1-612-873-3337