CoxHealth launches $200M, 15-year plan

Today’s hospital leaders are planning for the next 15 years, starting with a $55 million overhaul of CoxHealth’s north campus, announced Feb. 17. The long-range plan to update the entire system is an estimated $200 million investment.

Beginning in March is the creation of CoxHealth Medical Park, which transfers some of the north campus’ services to other facilities.

The new north campus will have three buildings – the Cox College of Nursing and Health Services, a new Behavioral Health Center and a Family Medicine Residency facility, which will offer 24-hour urgent care.

Plans also call for renovations to the Medical Tower, a 10-story office building at Cox North that will house physician offices and services formerly based at Cox North, including outpatient diabetes care and dialysis.

Cox North’s medical/surgical services will be transferred to the Cox Walnut Lawn hospital campus, where urgent care hours will be expanded, and imaging and endoscopy services will be consolidated at The Martin Center, adjacent to the Cox South campus.

A new urgent care unit will replace north campus’ emergency room, said Laurie Cunningham, vice president of corporate communications for Cox.

“Most of the patients that were using our emergency room at Cox North were really in need of urgent care-type services; whereas, the highly specialized care was happening at our Cox South and Cox Walnut Lawn locations,” Cunningham said.

Cunningham said details of the project’s funding have not been finalized, adding that Cox has been a step ahead of its growth.

“We have to plan today for tomorrow,” she said, citing an aging population as the impetus for this new plan. “We will look at each project individually to determine the best funding source for each project as it comes on line.”

Project timeline

Phase I of the project, set for completion in October, will include the consolidation and relocation of services from the north campus’ K and L wings. Acute beds and rehabilitation therapy will move to Cox Walnut Lawn. The diabetes center, senior health center, pain management services, fitness center, occupational medicine services and dialysis services will move to Medical Tower.

The project’s second phase will initiate construction of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, as well as the Family Medicine Residency and 24-Hour Urgent Care and imaging facility. Phase II is expected to take one to two years.

Phase III will call for 62 percent of Cox North to be razed to allow construction of the behavioral health center. That phase is slated for completion in two to three years.

The final phase will raze the remaining 38 percent of the campus and should take three to five years.

Meanwhile, the 15-year timeline for the overall upgrade of Cox’s system will be under way. By 2021, the Walnut Lawn inpatient and urgent care services and the south campus emergency room are to be expanded, among other redevelopment projects.

CoxHealth President and CEO Robert Bezanson said in a news release that jobs and services would not be compromised as a result of the project. Bezanson could not be reached for comment by press time.

“Everyone should continue to have a job,” he said in the release. “Obviously, some work places may move to different locations in the system, but jobs will not be going away from anyone.”[[In-content Ad]]