By Allison Musante, Staff Writer
PLAINSBORO The pieces appear to be falling into place for the new University Medical Center of Princeton, which is still on schedule to open early next year with a goal to be one the country’s most comprehensive medical campuses.
On Tuesday morning, members of the Plainsboro Business Partnership turned out at the Wyndham Hotel and Conference Center for breakfast with Barry Rabner, president and CEO of Princeton HealthCare System, to learn about the progress of the University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro campus and how it could involve the local business community.
Mr. Rabner said the company is on track for reaching its fundraising goal of $150 million in the next two years. Drawing from company savings, selling assets, borrowing and a capital campaign, the company has raised about $132 million.
”Once we hit the $150 million goal, we know we’re in place to take advantage of new opportunities that came our way and enable us to borrow less in the future,” he said. “But we have all the necessary capital to complete the project.”
The process is under way for selling the existing campus on Witherspoon Street, which is zoned for development as a multi-unit residential complex with retail components, parking, open space, bus and rail transit accessibility. Mr. Rabner said they have been contacted by about 130 potential buyers.
”We hope they will pay a spectacular amount of money and we’ll be able to sell it,” he said. “Though we are a nonprofit entity, we have to operate with a margin. Our goal is to have excess revenue of between 3 and 6 percent to run efficiently as a business. We expect health care reimbursement to only decrease in the future, so we need the sale of that building to help us weather future financial changes.”
According to the Princeton HealthCare System data, the entire campus should bring in more than $1.2 billion in total annual economic activity to the region, and the entire site will employ about 4,800 people. At the hospital itself, there will be no significant increase in staffing because of improvements in efficiency, Mr. Rabner said. About 3,300 construction-related jobs will be generated over 10 years of construction phases.
Site work to the main building, called the patient tower, is complete and everything has been purchased for the hospital except the furniture. The plan is to open the first two floors, which accommodate 230 beds, and later expand into the top two floors to reach a 360-bed capacity, he said.
Other campus facilities still to come include a medical office and research building, an assisted living center with 100 units, an adult and child daycare center, and an age-restricted, independent residential center with 300 units. Mr. Rabner said work on the adult residential community would begin as soon as he can find an appropriate developer. In a few weeks, he said he would have reached a decision about a 50,000-square-foot fitness and wellness center planned for the campus.
Mr. Rabner also said that other health care providers have expressed interested in joining the campus. The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, which announced its interest several months ago, has since acquired 13 acres of the site to build a 100,000-square-foot outpatient facility.
”(Their interest) was so dramatic that we actually redesigned part of the new hospital to accommodate an enlarged pediatric inpatient unit and to accommodate all the additional children it’ll serve,” he said. “So from a community standpoint, the care is better and we’re offering different types of care closer to home, and from a business standpoint, volume does matter.”
Mr. Rabner announced that the Cancer Institute of New Jersey has expressed interest in joining the campus, as well as Thomas Jefferson University, which is interested in bringing neurosurgery services.
”We knew there would be a lot of interest from other providers, but we thought that would happen later,” he said. “But we’ve heard from these terrific providers who are interested in partnering delivery of care, so we’re expecting to use all of the shell space we built into the building in the future.”
Except for the main building and services with Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, the other providers are privately owned and for-profit. Mr. Rabner added that the entire campus would likely utilize many local businesses for other services or supplies.
Plans are still in motion for major infrastructure improvements in Plainsboro and West Windsor to accommodate hospital traffic along Route 1 before the hospital opens. With state approval and support of the township mayors, there are plans for a left-turn lane on Harrison Street and a new signal at the intersection that would allow rescue vehicles to change the signal so they can pass without waiting.
Mr. Rabner said he is also seeking a trauma center designation for the campus, with plans for a helicopter pad. “In 2013, we will apply to the state for that designation and hopefully they’ll agree,” he said.

