Dive Brief:
- MedStar Georgetown University Hospital has been granted approval for a masive expansion involving a new six-story hospital pavilion and renovations to its current facility, the Washington Business Journal reports.
- The hospital received a "certificate of need" from regulators and then received the approval last Friday from the State Health Planning and Development Agency.
- The approval comes about eight months after Medstar officials submitted their proposal in July 2015.
Dive Insight:
The planned hospital expansion, slated to begin construction in late 2016 and wrap up in 2020, will be one of the first such expansions in DC since George Washington University Hospital built a $96 million facility in 2000, the Washington Business Journal reports.
Medstar's new 477,000-square-foot surgical pavilion will be located east of the main hospital and will include a larger emergency department, private patient rooms, new operating rooms and a new helipad.
The Business Journal notes the hospital's recommendation has some strings attached, in that MedStar must submit details regarding the planned renovations to the main hospital and how its space will be utilized once some functions are moved to the new pavillion.
In addition, MedStar has reportedly agreed to run a program to provide free cancer screenings and treatment to at least 500 uninsured or underinsured patients.