There are many interesting hospital projects underway in Indiana currently, but only an elite assortment of them represent nine-digit investments. Each member of this hundred-million-plus club is laying innovative foundations for the future of healthcare in the Hoosier state. They’re taking strides to remain ready for whatever the future brings to medicine, and they’re paying careful attention to the health needs of their surrounding citizens.
Here's a look at some of the latest hospital projects happening right now that each top out at over $100 million. Some are even multiple times that dollar amount.
UChicago Medicine’s New Multispecialty Facility, $121M
Rendering provided by UChicago Medicine.The University of Chicago Medicine broke ground on a new two-story, 130,000-square-foot multispecialty care center and micro-hospital in Crown Point. This will be the academic health system's largest off-site facility and its first freestanding building in the Hoosier state.
Since October 2021 when the initiative was first announced, plans for the new facility have evolved and grown. Hospital leadership worked with project partners and Crown Point officials to ensure the new facility can meet future healthcare demands of the Northwest Indiana community.
The new Crown Point care center will include a micro-hospital with an eight-bed emergency department and a short-stay inpatient unit, in addition to a comprehensive cancer center with infusion therapy as well as radiation, medical, and surgical oncology. The building will also feature an imaging center with MRI, CT, PET, X-ray and ultrasound capabilities, an outpatient surgery center, and other laboratory services.
Space will also be established for medical offices for UChicago Medicine’s physicians and specialists, such as those that focus on cancer care, cardiology, digestive diseases, orthopaedics, neurosciences, pediatrics, primary care, surgical specialties, transplant care, and women’s health.
The new center is expected to have as many as 110,00 patient visits each year and create at least 150 high-paying clinical and nonclinical jobs. The facility is expected to open in spring of 2024.
Reid Health’s New State-of-the-Art Campus, $100M
Rendering provided by Reid Health.Reid Health has broken ground on a new $100 million facility in Connersville that will replace the company’s current building in the city, which is located at a different site.
The existing Connersville facility on Virginia Avenue represents 100 years' worth of construction and renovation projects and could not easily be revamped to meet future needs. The outdated spaces have been challenging to retrofit and update with new technologies, workflows, and services. Thus, the organization opted to develop a totally new location on Park Road on the city’s northeast side as the most cost-effective solution.
Current plans for the new Park Road facility call for a two-story, 177,000-square-foot building with more than 400 parking spaces and an onsite helipad. It will include an Emergency Department, radiology and laboratory services, and a mix of primary and specialty care options for patients. Some of those services include cardiology, oncology, OB/GYN, orthopedic, cardio-pulmonary rehab, podiatry, rehab services, audiology, sleep disorder, wound healing, and ear, nose, and throat. The new emergency helipad will be the county’s first in nearly 30 years.
The new campus will not be an inpatient hospital. Officials said it was cost prohibitive. Instead, inpatient services will continue to be offered at Reid Hospital's nearby location in Richmond.
The new building is anticipated to be finished in 2024, depending on weather and supply chain factors.
IU Health Saxony Hospital Expansion, $300M
Rendering provided by IU Health.Toward the end of last year, Indiana University Health broke ground on its expansion of IU Health Saxony Hospital, soon to be called IU Health Fishers. The investment will include a significant expansion of the hospital campus and services, and the addition of offsite, outpatient access to primary care and specialists. Overall, the project will expand the square footage of the hospital campus by about 50%.
One of the key features of the new project will be the addition of Riley Children’s Health Emergency Medicine services. This will include a dedicated, pediatric emergency department, which will be staffed 24/7 by Riley Children’s emergency medicine physicians and nurses. It will include eight pediatric emergency rooms with a four-bed observation unit, as well as a separate pediatric entrance, waiting room and triage area.
The project will also include space for 50 new inpatient beds will be added, bringing the total number to 88. New and expanded services will also be added in the areas of obstetrics & gynecology, otorhinolaryngology (ear, nose, and throat), nephrology, neurology, and pulmonology.
Existing specialty programs in the areas of cardiovascular, gastroenterology, general medicine, general surgery, orthopedics, primary care (pediatric and adult), and urology will also be expanded. Also, new support service space will be made available to help accommodate additional staff and higher patient volumes.
The expansion is expected to be complete in 2025 and will double the hospital’s workforce.
Beacon Health is Transforming Memorial Hospital, $232M
Rendering provided by Beacon Health.Beacon Health’s Memorial Hospital of South Bend is launching one of the most transformative construction projects in its 129-year history. The new 10-story tower project will comprise 300,000 square feet across seven new patient care floors, a renovation and expansion of the Intensive Care Unit, and the redesign and renovation of other areas and departments across the downtown hospital campus. The number of adult acute care beds will be expanded from 249 to 302.
An estimated 500 new jobs created when the project is completed in March 2026. Including construction, increased economic activity, and projected local employment gains, the project is expected to generate an economic impact of more than $400 million on the community.
The project will transform or touch almost every part of the hospital. Patient rooms will be larger, quieter and will have their own temperature controls, and they will be equipped with telemetry, remote monitored alarms and mobility lifts. Every room will also feature new dedicated family and visitor spaces.
Also, newly expanded facilities will be created for adult critical care, adult acute care, emergency and trauma care, ICU, diagnostic imaging, and outpatient surgery. The tower will feature improved ventilation, floors with negative pressure rooms, and ease-of-access amenities. A new central elevator bank will provide access to nearly all levels of the hospital from the main lobby.
