Ann Arbor-based St. Joseph Mercy Health System plans to spend $25 million to add 30 private hospital rooms at its hospital in Howell and develop an innovative 28-bed short-stay inpatient unit at an outpatient health center in Brighton, system officials said today.
“As the only full-service health care provider in Livingston County, we continue to upgrade and expand our services for area residents,” said Rob Casalou, CEO of St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor and Livingston hospitals, in a statement.
Casalou said the $25 million in upgrades, which are to be completed in 2015, will enhance St. Joseph’s outpatient care network, extend its physician network and increase inpatient care quality.
Some hospitals in Southeast Michigan have been converting semi-private beds into private rooms to improve quality by reducing chance of infections and providing more amenities to attract patients.
“Our focus is to update the facility and its amenities, but really the big news is our decision to provide overnight outpatient care,” Casalou told Crain’s. “We’re creating a new level of care that really doesn’t exist in a freestanding capacity anywhere right now.”
The short-stay unit, for patients needing overnight and possibly up to 48 hours of observation care, will be constructed at St. Joseph Mercy Brighton, a comprehensive outpatient center.
Casalou said the short-stay unit, which St. Joseph is piloting and could be a model for other hospitals, will be one of the largest of its kind in Southeast Michigan. Nurses and physicians will staff the unit on a 24-hour basis and there will be two additional operating rooms to support the unit.
“By creating a really high-quality outpatient facility for patients who don’t need to be admitted but need overnight care we can offer a high-quality level of care while reducing overall costs,” Casalou said.
“This is one of the major goals of health care reform. We are trying to respond to that by creating this model of care.”
Livonia-based CHE Trinity Health, the parent company of the six-hospital St. Joseph system, will fund the capital project through operating revenue and a planned fundraising program.
At 136-bed St. Joseph Mercy Livingston hospital, an unspecified number of private rooms will be created by converting semi-private rooms and the surgery center will be expanded. Floor designs will be altered to bring caregivers closer to patient beds.
