Palmdale Regional Medical Center this summer announced plans for significant expansions to its existing hospital campus, with the project expected to be completed in phases over the next two to three years. The first phase, with an anticipated cost of $60 million, will include a 33,000-square-foot maternity labor and delivery unit, magnetic resonance imaging scanner replacement, new tomography scanners and cardiac catheterization lab, as well as pharmacy and clinical lab expansion. Phase one of the project bumps the hospital’s total bed capacity to 234, with an additional 36-bed nursing unit, eight beds being added to intensive care, and 12 more beds as part of an emergency department expansion, the hospital said in a statement. The nursing unit will be used for joint, spine and bariatric care. The labor and delivery unit will have 25 private patient rooms; six labor, delivery and recovery suites; two surgical suites; and a neonatal intensive care unit. The replacement MRI scanner is set to come online in November, the hospital said. Construction on the labor and delivery unit will begin in January and is expected to be finished by October 2020. As for the CT scanner and catheterization lab, construction is set to begin in November and January, respectively. Phase two includes a freestanding behavioral health facility which will be located on campus. A second patient tower, depending on demand, will be the third phase of the project. “The Antelope Valley continues to grow steadily,” Rick Norris, former Palmdale City Councilman and current chairman at the Palmdale Regional Medical Center board, said in a statement. “The hospital has been providing quality health care close to home for nearly a decade and we see great opportunity in continuing to earn the reputation as the preferred local provider. And importantly, these significant expansions are being funded through hospital operations.” No fundraising is needed, Palmdale hospital officials said, as Palmdale Regional has access to capital for routine updates through its parent company Universal Health Services Inc. “The addition of service lines, new innovative technologies and additional bed capacity will give our patients more ways to discover the difference at Palmdale Regional,” added Richard Allen, chief executive of Palmdale Regional Medical Center. “In partnership with the medical staff and community, we aim to be recognized as the leading provider of innovative, patient-centric health care .
