Monday, October 17, 2011
New Presbyterian Orthopaedic Hospital plans announced
Replacement hospital will provide improved clinical space and enhanced patient amenities
At a public celebration, today Presbyterian Orthopaedic Hospital leaders announced plans to seek the state’s approval to build a replacement hospital that will offer larger and private patient rooms, new operating rooms, accommodations for new technology and amenities not available in the hospital’s current 50-year-old facility. As part of its plan, Presbyterian Healthcare submitted a certificate of need detailing its proposal for the new hospital to the CON Section, North Carolina Division of Health Service Regulation in Raleigh.
The hospital would have 64 acute care beds, 16 transitional care beds for skilled nursing care, 12 dedicated observation beds in a Universal Care Center, and 10 operating rooms and would be constructed at the corner of 5th Street and Caswell Road, adjacent to Presbyterian Hospital’s new F Wing. Plans for the current POH hospital site have not been determined. The estimated cost for the new hospital is about $84 million. Presbyterian expects to receive a decision from the CON Agency in spring 2012. Construction would begin within three to six months after receiving regulatory approval and would be completed over three years.
"Our staff at Presbyterian Orthopaedic Hospital has done a remarkable job of providing our patients with outstanding care, as demonstrated by our program being named one of the 60 best in the nation by Becker’s Hospital Review in 2011,” said Mike Riley, president of Presbyterian Orthopaedic Hospital. “However, our building is a half-century old and in need of significant operational upgrades. While our structural challenges may not be evident to our patients or visitors, we’ve had to creatively find ways to work around an aging facility. Our new hospital will provide important clinical accommodations and modern conveniences and comforts that could not be offered in our current facility without a significant renovation investment that would be fiscally imprudent.”
Presbyterian Orthopaedic Hospital originally was developed as an extended care facility by a private corporation and was transformed into the Orthopaedic Hospital of Charlotte by a group of orthopaedic surgeons in 1976. Presbyterian purchased 50 percent of the hospital in 1993, and the name was changed to Presbyterian Orthopaedic Hospital. In 1998, Novant Health assumed full ownership of the hospital.
Next month, Presbyterian Orthopaedic Hospital celebrates its 35-year anniversary. The region’s only orthopaedic hospital, POH is also ranked in the top 5 percent in the country for surgical care quality measures. In 2010, it earned five disease-specific certifications from The Joint Commission, including hip fracture, hip replacement, knee replacement, laminectomy and spinal fusion.
For more information, visit www.presbyterian.org or follow Presbyterian Hospital on Facebook at www.facebook.org/presbyterianhealthcare.
