Parkview Medical Center Tower to Open Early
(photo courtesy of Parkview Regional Medical Center)
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe new six-story, $98 million medical tower at Parkview Regional Medical Center in Fort Wayne is set to open nearly three months early. The center says construction was expedited in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the tower’s first patients are scheduled to arrive on Thursday.
Parkview says the 168,000-square-foot tower adds a total of 72 new inpatient beds and 100 new clinical positions. The hospital says the investment is a result of growing demand for inpatient and ambulatory care for patients in northeast Indiana and northwest Ohio.
“Since the day it opened in 2012, PRMC has regularly operated near capacity, making construction of the new tower necessary to meet growing demand,” said Ben Miles, president of Parkview Regional Medical Center & Affiliates. “The patient-centered design of both towers helps us provide the excellent care that people have come to expect from us. The new tower is equipped to be functional and meet the needs of patients today, with flexibility to meet the needs of our community well into in the future.”
The hospital says the design largely mimics the existing PRMC tower, including all-private rooms and a new safety measures, such as negative pressure rooms and in-room technology. The sixth floor will be the first to open, operating as an expansion of PRMC’s medical and surgical progressive care unit, with 24 new inpatient beds.
“We are extremely grateful to the team at Weigand Construction, who worked diligently to complete the top floor well ahead of schedule,” Miles said. “The south tower is opening at a critical time, helping us provide high-quality care for an even greater number of people who come to us from throughout the region.”
The fifth and fourth floors of the new medical tower will open for patients October 1 and November 1, respectively. The fifth floor will be used for medical/surgical specialty care, and the fourth floor will be used for neurological care, with 24 beds on each floor.
“In addition to the medical tower expansion at PRMC, we have also created more capacity at Parkview Hospital Randallia,” added Miles. “Renovations there allowed us to open an additional 20 inpatient beds in July, improving access to care for patients across Allen County.”
The hospital says opening dates have not been set for the second and third floors of the tower, as plans are still being finalized for the services on those floors.