WMHS Receives CON for New Hospital

At its meeting on March 15, the Maryland Health Care Commission (MHCC) approved the Western Maryland Health System's Certificate of Need (CON) application for a new replacement hospital on Willowbrook Road in Cumberland.

"This is an exciting day for healthcare in our region," says Barry P. Ronan, WMHS President and CEO. "Today's approval means that we can move ahead with our plans for a premier healthcare facility on Willowbrook Road that will serve area residents for generations to come."

Approved by the MHCC was the construction of a new hospital that will include a total of 275 beds, including 262 acute care beds and 13 medical rehabilitation beds, and the full range of diagnostic and treatment services currently provided at Memorial and Sacred Heart, except for the 20-bed extended care unit currently on the Sacred Heart Campus. Total construction cost for the new hospital is estimated at $228 million.

The CON application process began in October 2004, when WMHS submitted a Letter of Intent to the MHCC to combine the services at Memorial and Sacred Heart Hospitals into a new hospital. WMHS filed the CON application in April 2005, and the official review process by the MHCC staff began in August 2005.

The approval of the health system's CON is one of many steps in making the new hospital a reality. Work continues on the Willowbrook Office Complex, formerly the Kelly-Springfield Tire Company's corporate headquarters and tire testing facility, which will become the new home of the Allegany County Health Department later this spring.

"We remain on track to have the Health Department relocated to its new facilities by the end of May," continued Ronan. "Work continues in the completion of the construction documents, as well as finalizing plans for the financing of the new hospital, which include using reserve funds, issuing bonds, and taking our capital campaign public."