7/12/19 Presbyterian plans expansion to meet needs - Albuquerque Business First

Presbyterian plans expansion to meet needs

Clay Holderman, chief operating officer and executive vice president, Presbyterian Healthcare Services, said the health care provider's newly announced expansion will help it meet patient demand.

Presbyterian's main campus on Central Avenue has been feeling the pinch when it comes to meeting capacity needs and the future only shows the need growing.

That's why the nonprofit hospital, one of the state's largest private employers, announced a $260 million expansion of its main campus, including a 335,000-square-foot, 11-story patient care tower and a three-story parking garage at its main campus on Central Avenue.

Over the next decade, demand for hospital service is anticipated to grow 15 percent, according to Presbyterian. And despite Presbyterian's effort to move some of its non-critical care away from its main campus, it was facing a reality that need would only grow more in the future. Compounding that demand is New Mexico's population becoming more urban and the growth in complex patient service as the Baby Boomer generation ages.

Within the last year, Presbyterian has announced plans for three urgent/emergency room centers and a trio of ambulatory surgery centers, including one it says will be among the region's largest. Presbyterian has also expanded Rust Medical Center twice, in a push to "move care more out in the community" in an effort to relieve the demand for patient care at its main campus, 1100 Central Ave SE.

"In spite of these efforts, there's been more demand than we've been able to serve Downtown," said Clay Holderman, COO and executive vice president for Presbyterian Healthcare Services. "There was a realization that moving services off campus was not enough. We needed to increase patient service."

Aging infrastructure — parts of the hospital on Presbyterian's main campus is more than 60 years old — exacerbated the patient need demand there.

Holderman said the hospital's board began exploring plans to expand about a year ago. The entire project is expected to cost $260 million. Presbyterian's board named Jaynes Corp. as the contractor and Dekker/Perich/Sabatini as the architectural firm on the project. The project is projected to create 350 construction jobs, 200 long-term jobs for Presbyterian and generate $8 million in gross receipts taxes.

Construction on the patient care tower is expected to start later this year with the tower opening in 2022. It will house eight floors of patient rooms, adding 144 beds with room for nearly 50 more later. Following the opening of the tower, Presbyterian plans to refurbish existing patient rooms, allowing it to make every room at its main campus private, something it can't offer now because of overcrowding.

Presbyterian plans to first begin construction on the parking garage to minimize patient impact. The parking garage will add 800 spaces, an increase of 30 percent to its parking capacity.

The project's announcement comes as that section of Central Avenue is seeing massive changes. Directly across the street from Presbyterian is the Highlands project, developed by Albuquerque's Titan Development and Maestas Development Group, which includes a nearly 93,000-square-foot, 118-room Marriott Springhill Suites. The hotel's entire third floor will house a Ronald McDonald House Charities of New Mexico, which will feature a sky bridge over Central Avenue, directly connecting Marriott Springhill Suites to Presbyterian Hospital.

"We see this as a massive redevelopment for the Central corridor," said Holderman. "This is a real opportunity for Albuquerque."