The University Hospital opened a new expansion earlier this month that will provide needed bed space for patients.
Two floors were added to the George S. and Dolores Dor Eccles Critical Care Pavilion and helipads were added to the top level of the parking structure. The completion of three floors added to the parking terrace north of the building is expected to be finished within the next few months.
The 20,000-square foot expansion includes 26 private rooms for patients, which were designed by nurses to provide the best patient care, said Dennis Jolley, development director with Health Science Development.
At the ribbon-cutting ceremony July 10, Chief Nursing Officer Margaret Pearce said the staff at the hospital had been an indispensable part of the project.
“We have the best staff in the world,” Pearce said. “We would be foolish not to tap into their experience.”
The completion of the pavilion expansion is part of the first phase in a larger expansion program of the hospital, expected to be completed in 2009.
The second phase of the project is the construction of the new 221,329-square foot Patient Care Pavilion, which will be five stories and include 120 private patient rooms to serve in-patients.
The pavilion will be built to the north and west of the current hospital entrance. Eventually, it will be the new entrance and lobby to the hospital.