Intermountain Health plans to break ground on a 14-story replacement hospital next spring in Billings, Mont. The project is estimated to cost more than $900 million and marks the largest capital project in the state's history, according to a report from the Billings Gazette.
On Nov. 19, Salt Lake City-based Intermountain Health shared design plans for the new, 737,000-square-foot St. Vincent Regional Hospital. All services offered at the current St. Vincent facility will be transferred to the new hospital upon its expected opening in 2029. The health system said it decided to replace the current facility due to aging infrastructure and to design a hospital capable of meeting future growth in the region.
"Building a replacement hospital affords a once-in-a-generation opportunity to take all we know about modern healthcare and design a hospital for high-quality, efficient care for decades to come," Lee Boyles, president of Intermountain St. Vincent Regional Hospital and the system's Wyoming and Montana markets, said in a statement.
The new hospital will have 243 beds with flex space to accommodate 16 additional beds when needed. All patient rooms are being built with a universal design that will enable them to easily convert to ICU-level care.The operating rooms are designed to adapt to multiple types of procedures and support the integration of evolving surgical technology.
Some of the buildings on St. Vincent's current campus may be re-used for non-medical purposes including workforce housing, Mr. Boyles told the Billings-Gazette.
The project's construction is expected to bring significant economic growth to Billings, according to local community development leaders. Intermountain expects more than 1,200 total workers to be involved in constructing the facility.
Last month, Intermountain Health announced another billion-dollar project: A freestanding children's hospital in Las Vegas.