“This $236 million investment is the
largest campus modernization project we have ever embarked upon. This will
allow us to upgrade our facilities in Urbana while accommodating new
technology and the needs of our patients well into the future,” James C.
Leonard, MD, president and CEO of The Carle Foundation, said. “This
building, combined with the recently expanded North Tower, will become the
cornerstone of our medical campus.”
Within the 348,400 square feet of new physical space and approximately
50,000 square feet of renovated space, the state-of-the-art facility will
feature 100 percent private patient rooms, the latest in equipment and
technology, and greater convenience and access. The new structure will be
designed with private patient rooms for increased patient privacy and family
participation in the treatment and healing process, to protect patients from
infections that can be transmitted by other patients, and to better
accommodate the increasing size of hospital beds and medical equipment used
at the bedside.
Stephanie Beever, Carle Foundation Hospital’s vice president of Business
Development, said, “We appreciate the support we’ve received from officials,
residents and healthcare providers in our region as this project has
developed. To meet the future healthcare needs of east central Illinois and
to strive for an overall healthier community, this project to expand and
modernize our campus is absolutely essential, as is continued community
backing.”
Carle had announced plans to build a heart and vascular institute on its
Urbana campus in September 2007. Now, the plans for the bed tower have been
refined with outpatient cardiovascular services still occupying the first
floor and catheterization labs on the second, as well as the relocation of
cardiac intensive care, stepdown and medical beds within the bed tower.
The new bed tower will include 135 replacement beds; eight catheterization
labs adjacent to the operating rooms; a 20-bed Surgical ICU and a 12-bed
Cardiovascular ICU.
Carle is ranked in the top 10 percent of hospitals in the nation for
cardiology services and has received the HealthGrades Specialty Excellence
Award for Cardiology TM. In addition, Carle was on the Solucient (now
Thomson) “100 Top Hospitals: Cardiovascular Benchmarks for Success” list two
of the last five years. Carle’s existing cardiovascular program includes 12
physicians, four of whom are surgeons.
Located in renovated space on the first floor of the current North Tower
will be a newly created Digestive Health Center. Through this center, Carle
Foundation Hospital plans to increase awareness about preventing colorectal
cancer to reduce severe illness and death. Creating this center will
relocate all gastroenterology physicians and services under one roof,
including four additional rooms for endoscopies, bringing the total to 10.
The renovated space will allow for a private, separate and convenient exit
for digestive health patients, as well as physicians offices and space for
translational research.
Carle also plans to modernize and relocate its 15-bed rehabilitation unit on
the top floor of the new tower. This represents a change from plans
announced in November 2006 to build a larger, freestanding facility in
Champaign.
This enhanced rehabilitation unit will provide services for not only stroke
and brain and spinal cord injury, but also for patients recovering from
cardiovascular disease and surgery. Because the hospital is designated as a
Level 1 Trauma Center, Carle’s enhanced rehabilitation unit will provide an
uninterrupted, continuum of care for those patients with multiple traumas
and other severe injuries. The enhanced rehabilitation unit will feature
private, spacious patient rooms, a new exercise area and an Activities of
Daily Living Suite. An outpatient neuro-rehabilitation area and wound
healing services will also be located on this level.
In September 2007, Carle received approval from the Urbana City Council to
close streets within the hospital’s medical institution campus to
accommodate this expansion project. The tower building will be constructed
adjacent and to the west of the current North Tower. It will expand over
Coler Avenue.
Carle Foundation Hospital submitted the Certificate of Need application for
this expansion and renovation project Feb. 29, 2008, and anticipates a
potential hearing in August. If approved by the Illinois Health Facilities
Planning Board, the new tower could open as early as 2011.
Please direct any questions to Gretchen Robbins, Director of Public
Relations, Carle Foundation Hospital, at 217-383-3016 or by email —
Gretchen.Robbins@Carle.com.
