A multi-year renovation project at University of Minnesota Medical Center will expand the emergency department, add new state-of-the-art operating rooms and improve the patient experience at the medical center.
Construction at the medical center, located on the East and West Banks of the University of Minnesota campus in Minneapolis, began in early summer 2018 and extends into late 2020. Work is being conducted in phases to minimize the disruption to patients and families visiting the medical center. All departments will remain open throughout the duration of construction.
“We’re doing all we can so patients don’t feel the stress of construction, but we understand it is disruptive. If patients or staff raise concerns, we’ll partner with construction teams to ensure construction does not impact patient healing,” said Chief Nurse Executive Deb Cathcart.
"University of Minnesota Medical Center serves thousands of patients every year, with medical needs ranging from relatively simple to very complex,” said University of Minnesota Health Co-President John Doherty. “These improvements will help us accommodate our growing patient population and better position the medical center to be a leader in healthcare innovation and delivery.”
The $111 million project will include:
Though there are many other facility updates taking place at the medical center, the reconstruction of the emergency department and the build out of the operating and procedure rooms including a neurosurgical IMRI suite are the most significant components of the project, said Mary Jo Swanson, the Service Line Executive for Heart, Vascular and Solid Organ Transplant services.
“When finished, the new neurosurgical IMRI operating suite will be one of the most advanced in the world,” Swanson said. “Intraoperative MRI allows us to use real-time imaging to precisely guide complex procedures, such as brain tumor removals.”
The medical center will not be adding any beds as a result of the project, Doherty noted. However, the number of single-bed rooms will increase, which will improve the patient experience.
“As we look to improve the patient experience and drive efficiencies in workflow to achieve excellence in patient care and safety, it is important we get it right,” Cathcart said. “We have inter-professional teams involved in the design of the area and we continue to engage our staff for feedback as the project progresses.”
Mockup rooms have been created to enable the construction and design teams to get feedback directly from frontline team members about the design and development of each type of room undergoing renovation.
At end of day Feb. 15, the Maroon waiting room at the University of Minnesota Medical Center East Bank Hospital closes to begin work on the new Pharmacy. Starting Feb. 18, imaging patients should go to the following locations for check-in: