Should OMHS build a new hospital?

Should OMHS build a new hospital or expand and renovate existing facilities?

Those who support a new hospital may say…

Those who support renovating the
existing facility may say…

OMHS needs to build for the future.
A new facility will be more appealing to more patients and allow the hospital to provide better care. The current layout of some parts of the hospital is inconvenient and impractical for both employees and patients.
The hospital needs room to grow. Expansion at the current campus is difficult; there are major streets and a railroad to work around. Parking and access will be much improved.
The cost is essentially the same to build new and OMHS can afford it.
Building new can be completed in less time than phased expansion and renovation.
New construction on another site would not disrupt operations as would renovation.
A new hospital will help us recruit more physicians.
OMHS is our largest employer and the economic engine of our community and region; we need to protect it and maximize its potential.

By expanding, OMHS will need to increase utilization and occupancy. Increased utilization (the use of health care services) is one of the primary factors in the rising cost of health care.
The cost of the project will be passed along, in part, through increased charges to insurance companies and thus to patients. By phasing in necessary renovations over a period of years, costs will be easier to absorb.
Our community and hospital should have other priorities, such as expanding care for the uninsured and helping people change behaviors, such as smoking, that put them in the hospital in the first place. We don’t need to be spending a lot of money on a new building.
OMHS will have a fragmented campus because it will need to keep certain facilities (cancer center, emergency room, etc.) on the Parrish Avenue site.
Moving many hospital services away from the current location could hurt an area that is already in need of revitalization.
If OMHS builds a new hospital, it may be difficult to find uses for part of the current facility.

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