By John Saccenti, Staff Writer
PRINCETON — Princeton Healthcare officials say construction of the new hospital is on schedule for an early 2012 opening.
According to Pam Garbini, vice president of construction and facilities, the hospital is 35 percent complete and on target to be enclosed by mid-fall and completed by the end of 2011.
Right now, masons are putting up bricks across the north side of the facility with window set to be installed shortly. The south side of the building will be a “glass curtain” she said, with work to begin on that in June.
Ms. Garbini said the real action is happening on the inside where construction workers are transforming wide open spaces into rooms and corridors, many of which will have wires, pipes and more inside so they can serve in a medical capacity.
The hospital, which will be called the University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro, will anchor a health care campus to be built on 171 acres in Plainsboro on Route 1.
Six acres will be for the hospital, medical offices, a 32-acre park and a co-generation facility, which will allow the hospital to use natural gas to produce steam, photovoltaic cells and more.
In addition, a skilled nursing facility, which will replace Merwick Care Center in Princeton, is set to open by the end of the summer with 200 beds and outpatient dialysis.
”The support we’ve gotten from the community and the philanthropic staff and the staff in general has been great,” said Barry Rabner, CEO of Princeton Healthcare System.
Mr. Rabner said the facility will cost $447 million. To date, PHS has received approximately $110 million in gifts and pledges.
Plans for the campus began six years ago when hospital officials began mapping the future of the organization with an eye toward meeting the needs of a growing population and ways to introduce new technology into the hospital.
”I think the challenge for people wasn’t so much could the hospital grow on the current site? I think the question was, did it have to?” Mr. Rabner said. “I think we demonstrated that it would be necessary (build a new facility).”
Among planned improvements to roads near the new facility will be a left-hand turn lane from Harrison Street to Route 1, with signalization that can be activated by ambulances remotely.
”We’ve been working with the DOT for well over a year, and they are, as we speak, finalizing the engineering studies for improvements to Harrison Street,” Mr. Rabner said. “Ambulances will be able to change the signal, and they’re (the DOT) widening the road and adding shoulders.”
Mr. Rabner said PHS also is working with companies to development a fitness and wellness center, child care, assisted living, independent living care and acute rehabilitation on the campus.
”We have an agreement with CHOP (Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia) to build a pediatric subspecialty pavilion up to 100,000 square feet,” he said.
jsaccenti@centraljersey.com
