University of Rochester’s Strong Memorial Hospital breaks ground on $650M expansion

University of Rochester’s Strong Memorial Hospital held a groundbreaking celebration for its $650 million expansion project on Friday, September 8.

At the time of the event, enabling projects and necessary excavations had been completed, with one of the developers stating that demolition works had started in March and removed some 300 tons of material from the site.

As for the expansion project itself, this will consist of adding almost three times more floor space to the hospital’s Emergency Department, going from 32,00 square feet to 120,000 square feet, as well as constructing a brand new nine-story patient tower, which will add 650,000 square feet of new modern space.

The extension of the Emergency Department will contribute 200 examination/treatment and observation stations in phases to the ED and the Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program (CPEP), while the new tower will include 100 private inpatient rooms, as well as space for future operating rooms and treatment services.

Funding for the project includes a $50 million grant awarded by New York’s Statewide Health Care Facility Transformation Program, and another $1 million in the form of a federal grant, as part of the Fiscal Year 2023 Community Project Funding process.

The project is scheduled for completion in 2027 and is expected to resolve chronic overcrowding and bed shortage issues.