September 28, 2006

Regions Hospital planning major expansion, renovation project
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Regions Hospital today announced that it is planning a major facility expansion and renovation project. The project is designed to meet the growing and highest-priority health care needs of the region, including critical community health issues such as inpatient mental health and emergency medical services. In addition, the planned $179 million project will provide a higher percentage of private patient rooms and improved wayfinding and flow inside and outside the campus.

"Regions has a history, not merely of expansion, but of expansion done right – measured, purposeful and oriented to serve the new and developing needs of the community we serve," said Brock Nelson, president and CEO of Regions. "Considerable hard work and creative energy by Regions employees, physicians and the community during the last two years have led to the development of this plan. We look forward to working closely with the community and our civic partners as planning for this project continues."

Highlights of the project include:

– At the center of the expansion is a new 10-story, 385,000-square-foot, T-shaped tower located on the current south parking lot, near I-94.

– The top five floors of the new tower will be patient care units. Each floor will have 36 private patient beds. Three of the floors will be finished when the expansion opens in 2009 and the other two will be shelled in and completed at a later date.

– Floors 4-5 will house mechanical equipment.

– The third floor will be a new surgical services area with 20 new operating rooms.

– The second floor will include a new reprocessing area to support the operating rooms, on-call rooms for physicians and shelled space for future development.

– The first floor will feature space for a future expansion and renovation of the emergency department, as well as a new main entrance and lobby that connects to the existing atrium.

– Two levels of parking (approximately 450 parking spaces) will be located underneath the new tower providing patients and visitors with convenient access to the building.

– A new 900-space employee parking ramp on University Avenue between Jackson and Robert streets, which allows employees to park near the hospital campus.

– Renovation of approximately 62,000 square feet of space.

Demand for inpatient services at Regions is expected to increase 26 percent by 2013 due to the aging population and increased demand for health care. Statewide, hospital utilization is expected to grow 56 percent by 2030, according to a 2003 report by the Minnesota Department of Health.

Patient safety, efficiency, and cost-conscious design are key principles integrated throughout the design of the project. All new patient rooms on the 36-bed units are designed to maximize efficiency, safety and new developments in patient care. Patient rooms will be acuity-adjustable to minimize transfer of patients. A full-scale model of a patient room has been constructed to allow for staff and physician input during design.

"Expansion 2009 affirms our commitment as a critical community asset, providing services at a level that others do not," said Nelson, noting Regions is the second highest provider of charity care in the state with more than $32 million in services provided to 17,000 patients in 2005.

Regions is the only Level I Trauma Center serving the east metro and western Wisconsin. The trauma program is supported by coverage for specialties like burn care, orthopaedics, cardiology, neurosurgery, radiology, critical care intensivists and emergency medicine. Having these specialties on site, not just on call, means Regions is prepared to care for patients with any injury at any time, especially critically injured patients. Facility investments in these specialty areas is a key element of the project and will allow the hospital to continue to provide health care to those in need.

The hospital is one of St. Paul's largest employers, currently employing more than 4,100 people. More than 1,700 Regions employees reside in Ramsey County, including 980 St. Paul residents. It is estimated that the project will add 250 new positions.

Construction is slated to begin later this year, following completion of detailed design and review of the project by the City of St. Paul and Ramsey County.

More details about the project are available at regionshospital.com.

Regions Hospital is a Level I Trauma Center and teaching hospital serving Minnesota and western Wisconsin for more than 130 years. Regions is a private, non-profit hospital providing outstanding care in women's health, heart, cancer, surgery, orthopaedics, neuroscience, burn, emergency care and more. Regions is part of the HealthPartners family of care. Additional information is available at regionshospital.com.