Dive Brief:
- Children's Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA) has revealed the master plan for its new $1.3 billion pediatric medical campus in Brookhaven, GA, for what will be the most expensive facility built in the state's history.
- CHOA's new North Druid Hills Campus will include the already underway 260,000-square-foot Center for Advanced Pediatrics; a two-tower, 446-bed replacement facility; and 20 acres of green spaces with walkways. CHOA has also committed to spending $40 million to improve roads around the campus and to provide better access to its facilities.
- The Brookhaven Planning Commission and City Council will review CHOA's plans next month, with the campus zoning process expected to take up to six months. Construction should begin in 2020 and wrap up by 2026.
Dive Insight:
When CHOA first announced its plans for the new campus back in February, there had been much talk about a repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) following shortly after President Donald Trump's inauguration. At the time, CHOA officials said ACA's fate would not affect its ability to finance the new facilities as it relied on Georgia's Children's Healthcare Insurance Program, a separate program.
Children's hospitals are second only to behavioral health centers when it comes to construction projects, according to a recent survey from Health Facilities Management. A separate analysis from executive search firm Helbling & Associates found that health systems are once again starting to refocus on building large central hospitals, turning away from once-popular outpatient facility construction.
Earlier this month, San Diego-based Scripps Health announced that it was launching a $2.6 billion building program that includes all of its five area healthcare campuses. The largest of the projects is a $1.3 billion replacement of Scripps Mercy Hospital. The initiative also includes the addition of a three-story acute care center, an oncology center and performing seismic upgrades throughout the system. All of the projects should be completed by 2030 in order to meet the state's new hospital earthquake standard.
The nation's largest integrated healthcare provider, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), announced last month that it is planning to build a $925 million facility near downtown Louisville, KY, to replace its existing Louisville medical center. After claims of mismanagement on the project by the VA, Congress put the Army Corps of Engineers in charge of any VA construction project costing more than $100 million. The move has since created a procedural logjam, delaying 11 VA projects.
