By Annie Goeller, Daily Journal of Johnson County staff writer
An expansion at a southside hospital is resuming after officials re-evaluated the economy and the hospital's finances.
In March, officials at St. Francis Hospital and Health Centers decided to delay construction on the six-story, multimillion-dollar expansion due to concerns of how the sluggish economy was affecting the hospital system.
Work was set to stop when the outer shell of the building was complete and resume when the economy improved.
Now, the outer shell is complete, and construction will continue, according to a news release.
"After careful and ongoing evaluation of key economic indicators and the financial performance of the hospital, the Sisters of St. Francis Health Services Board of Trustees voted to resume the project at full steam ahead," president and chief executive officer Robert J. Brody said in the release.
Work never completely stopped on the expansion. In recent months, workers have finished the outside of the building and installed some windows and framing, the news release said.
The expansion is part of the hospital's plan to move services and staff from its Beech Grove hospital to the southside location on Emerson Avenue.
The new tower will add 221 inpatient beds, including surgical, intensive care and observation beds.
Other services will be expanded, including a new and renovated outpatient surgery area with 10 new surgery rooms, an expanded emergency department with 68 treatment rooms and a new main entrance on the east side of the hospital, the release said.
Officials decided to delay the $265 million expansion due to the decline in the economy, which brought an increase in the number of people who are unable to pay for health services, have lost their insurance coverage or are putting off some procedures and tests because they can't pay for them.
At the time, the hospital had spent about $100 million on the project, and officials said they wanted to dedicate the millions more that would have been spent on the expansion this year to continuing the care needed in the community.
"Though at the time, the delay was disappointing, it was determined that a fiscally conservative approach was most appropriate," Brody said in the release.
How long the delay would last was not known at the time.
The original construction timeline projected the expansion would be complete in 2010 or 2011.
Now, with work resuming, officials expect to be in the building by the first quarter of 2012, spokesman Joe Stuteville said.