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Community Corner

$575 Million Stamford Hospital Expansion to Start Next Year

After infrastructure and road work are completed, the hospital needs to build a new central utility plant that will power the facility.

Stamford Hospital is gearing up for the first phase of its $575 million expansion project. The city’s Zoning Board the first phase of the development April 4.

“Now that the Stamford Zoning Board approved the first phase development plan, the hospital can commence with preliminary infrastructure and road work,” hospital spokesman Scott Orstad told Patch.

However, timing of the $350 million Phase One project is still up in the air, he said, but it looks like it will get underway sometime next year.

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“The exact start time is to be determined. Once the infrastructure and road work are completed, the hospital needs to build the new central utility plant that will power the facility. The goal is to start this in 2012,” Orstad said.

In 2013, the first phase of plan features the of the first fives stories of a new multi-level Specialty Healthcare Building with public amenities and a pedestrian walkway connecting it to the current Hospital. 

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“This new building will be capable of significant expansion in later phases. In Phase One, it will include an all-new, state-of-the-art Emergency Department to handle current and future demands for services. 

Orstad told Patch that highlights of the new Emergency Department include more than doubling the number and size of exam rooms to accommodate today’s technology and the new guidelines endorsed by the American College of Emergency Physicians. 

“It will also have separate adult and pediatric services. Other features include new surgical suites, an expanded Intensive Care unit and consolidation of the hospital’s expanding heart, vascular services and interventional cardiology labs,” he added.

The total project is expected to cost $575 million. The second phase of the expansion, according to Orstad, will take place over a 10-to-15 year period and will vertically the new Specialty Building to create a bed-tower to house medical and surgical beds. 

With two decades of expansion ahead for the hospital, plans are underway to accomodate employees and patients during construction.

Orstad told Patch he expects there will be minimal interference for hospital employees and patients who will be affected by the expansion.

“There should be minimal disruption for patients as the existing facilities will continue to be utilized until the new building is ready,” he said. “During construction, we will shift more employees to off-site parking and provide additional shuttle service to the campus.”

Orstad said hospital officials will collaborate with surrounding neighborhoods to keep them informed on the project’s progress.

“Stamford Hospital will work closely with surrounding neighborhoods to keep them abreast of what is happening and when during the various phases of construction,” Orstad said.

Audited numbers from October 1, 2009 to September 30, 2010 indicate Stamford Hospital collected $493.6 million while incurring expenses of $470.9 million, which resulted in $22.7 million of income from operations, according to hospital records obtained by Patch.

Editor’s Note: This is the second article in a series that will detail Stamford Hospital’s plans for expansion and how it will affect the surrounding neighborhoods as well as the city as a whole.

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