Trustees revive plans for children’s hospital

Anne Danahy

UNIVERSITY PARK — The Penn State trustees on Friday approved final plans for construction of a $206 million Children’s Hospital in Hershey, 11 months after it put the project on hold.

Penn State Hershey Medical Center cited a difficult credit market when it announced in December 2008 that it was delaying plans for the 252,000 square foot facility. CEO Harold L. Paz said after Friday’s trustees meeting that several factors are now allowing the project to get under way.

He said the credit market has improved. Also, he said, it is estimated that the construction will cost less now than it would have a year ago. If the medical center delays further, the costs could rise again.

“There is no question that the need is still there,” Paz said.

Construction is slated to begin in February and be completed in fall 2012. A groundbreaking is scheduled for Friday, with site preparation to begin after that.

So far, $62 million has been raised toward the campaign goal of $65 million. In addition to borrowing money to pay for the rest of the project, the medical center is anticipating state support.

The facility will be five stories tall, along with a basement, and will have 118 beds. It will include private patient rooms, outpatient clinics, surgical suites, a radiology unit and areas for families. Boston-based Payette and Associates is the architect.

The trustees also approved plans for an expanded parking area to accommodate the Children’s Hospital at a cost of no more than $20.3 million. That is scheduled to be finished in May 2011.

Paz said that in addition creating construction jobs, the new Children’s Hospital will bring more than 1,100 health care jobs to the Hershey area.

The medical center in January announced plans to reduce its staff, through attrition, by 260 positions. However, Paz said that is now being reevaluated. He said the medical center ended the fiscal year ahead of its budget and the first quarter of this fiscal year has been busy. So far, he said, fewer than 50 positions have been trimmed.

Anne Danahy can be reached at 231-4648.