WVNews reports that WVU Medicine United Hospital Center (UHC) broke ground last week on a two-story, 62,000-square-foot, $48 million outpatient surgery center on three acres adjacent to the hospital on its Bridgeport, W.Va., campus.
“The outpatient surgery center will better position UHC to improve access to world-class surgery care and enhance surgical capacity for more complex cases,” said UHC CEO David F. Hess, MD, who is also regional president of the Central Region for West Virginia University Health System, according to WVNews. “During the last few years, UHC has seen tremendous surgical growth due to the hospital becoming a regional referral center and the recruitment of renowned surgeons. The new state-of-the-art surgical center will be able to accommodate higher volumes of low-risk outpatient procedures.”
The facility, which will be physically connected to the main hospital, is expected to focus on orthopedics, with eight ORs equipped with robotic capabilities, pre- and post-operative recovery areas and space for same-day total joint replacement procedures. WVNews reports that officials say the ORs will be adaptable for additional specialties, and that the project includes “shelled space to allow for future expansion.”
“Outpatient surgical volume has been an important driver of UHC’s overall success,” said Jeff Barger, UHC board chairman and a West Virginia University Health System board member. “The new surgery center will serve to ensure that UHC continues to recruit elite surgeons.”
Read the full WVNews report here.
