After 10 years of promising renderings and construction, the University of Maryland Capital Region Medical Center will open in Prince George’s County this month.
"It's overwhelming, I mean, especially for me," said Chief Medical Officer Dr. Joseph Wright, who has guided the ship to the county's new hospital.
The $500 million, 620,000-square-foot medical center will replace the county's old hospital in Cheverly.
"The old building is really three buildings stitched together for 60 years," Wright said. "It was not designed with workflow in mind. This was; this is."
That means a new take on emergency room services. There's not much seating in the new emergency area.
"The expectation is to move quickly into the treatment area and not to be languishing in the waiting room," Wright said.
The new hospital has emergency services for children and an expanded maternity area. As it stands, nearly four out of five Prince George's County women opt to give birth outside of the county, Wright said.
Local
Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia local news, events and information
"We really, really want to deliver moms and babies close to home and be able to have a comfortable space and attractive space," Wright said.
There's a behavioral health wing and an expanded trauma area modeled after the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore.
"We are still going to be a level two trauma center for the state system, the second busiest trauma center in the state," Wright said.
The facility's Heart and Vascular Institute will focus on state-of-the-art preventative care.
"The intent of the Heart and Vascular Institute is to get ahead of disease management before patients need surgery," Wright said.
A ribbon-cutting will be held June 8, and the hospital will officially open June 12. About 190 patients will be transported from the Cheverly location to the new hospital all in the same day.
