While Penn State Health gradually resumes many of its operations after nearly two months of restrictions, the progress of Penn State Children’s Hospital expansion project barely missed a beat during the COVID-19 pandemic. It remains on track for a fall 2020 completion.
“Our contractor, Whiting Turner, has carefully guided this critical project forward,” said Carolyn Stoner, project director, Facilities, Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. “Throughout the pandemic, they’ve focused on enhanced safety measures to keep subcontractors safe. They’ve also faced obstacles with their materials supply chains, but their contingency strategies enabled them to stay on track for a fall opening.”
Construction on the expansion project — which is adding three floors and a total of 126,000 additional square feet to Children’s Hospital — began in April 2018. The new space will house a labor and delivery unit and postpartum patient rooms, as well as a new neonatal intensive care unit — all of which will be moved from their current locations in Hershey Medical Center.
The addition also will include an 18-bed pediatric intermediate care unit. As part of the project, approximately 14,000 square feet of the existing fifth floor of the Children’s Hospital is being renovated from office space to provide another 14 adult acute care patient rooms, team care stations and support spaces.
Stoner says that the exact date for completion has yet to be determined, but it is on track for late October or early November 2020.