'We're Very Excited' | Expansion Project At Howard County General Hospital Finishing Up, Grand Opening Next Week
COLUMBIA, Md. (WJZ) -- A nearly $48 million expansion project at Howard County General Hospital is now wrapping up.
Crews are finishing up final touches in preparation for the grand opening next week.
Five years ago, the expansion of Howard County General was just a concept- renovating an aging unit with the goal to increase hospital efficiency and enhance patient experience.
"We're very excited about our new in-patient psychiatric unit because it's more than double the size of our existing unit," Ryan Brown, Vice President of Operations at Howard County General, said.
In order to meet the growing demand of the area, the hospital is getting ready to open its new 50,000 square foot, two-story facility to the public.
"Howard County is growing at a fast pace, but in conjunction with that, it's aging rapidly, Brown said. "I think a lot more people are aging in place, and when you age, there's more demand for healthcare services."
The new improvements include a new emergency room entrance, a 23-bed observation unit and an in-patient psychiatric unit.
As the only hospital to serve Howard County, hospital leaders say it's crucial to provide a healing environment equipped with state of the art technology.
"75 percent of our patients that are treated at our hospital first come to our emergency room," Brown said. "So we felt that we really needed to have an entrance that was welcoming."
Hospital leaders say this expansion is just the start of how the campus will evolve over the next few decades.
