The University of Maryland Medical System has broken ground on a $540 million, six-story replacement hospital in Easton.
The University of Maryland Shore Regional Medical Center, part of UM Shore Regional Health, will span 230 acres. It will include 122 private beds, 27 emergency department treatment bays, seven operating rooms, a helipad and an adjacent medical office and outpatient services building.
Ken Kozel, president and CEO of UMSRH, said expanding access to care across the system's 2,000-square-mile region has pushed leaders to think of innovative ways to transform rural healthcare.
"Our medical pavilions, freestanding emergency care centers and programs designed to achieve equity in healthcare access for our diverse communities have enabled us to dramatically expand access to preventive care and chronic disease management outside the walls of the hospital," Dr. Kozel said in an Oct. 22 news release. "Now, with the support of [UMMS] and so many members of the Shore healthcare team, the state of Maryland, our town and county governments, civic groups and private citizens, we look forward to realizing our vision of our new, state-of-the-art Shore Regional Medical Center."
The hospital is expected to open in 2028.