Project Details:
The project is the construction of the Health Innovation Center (“HIC”) in a highly distressed area of north central Pennsylvania in the city of Williamsport. The HIC is an 88,000-square foot facility designed to be a key medical link to community servicing and outreach in the urban core of Williamsport. It is the capstone of a broader $268 million capital plan of Susquehanna Health System (“SHS”) called Project 2012, which includes an expanded Cancer Treatment Center, Energy Service Center and a new patient tower.
The HIC will be connected to the Williamsport Regional Medical Center (“WRMC”) and includes: the Family Medicine Residency Practice, Commonwealth Medical College, community education room, Heart & Vascular Institute, OB/GYN and general surgery practices, a Joint and Spine Center and pharmacy and durable medical equipment retail space. These practice areas will be expanded and move to the HIC as the space is completed. In addition, there will be 3,495-square feet of new leasable space in the HIC plus leasable space in the WRMC from the Heart & Vascular Institute vacating and moving to the HIC.
A key foundational element of the HIC will be the relocation of The Family Medicine and Residency Practice from the existing 8,500-square foot underground space of the WRMC into the larger 13,790-square foot space in the HIC. The relocation will heighten the Residency Practice’s prominence in the medical education of students and residents of this rural healthcare system. Attracting more resident physicians is a key to closing the gap in the need for more primary care physicians.