[Not a valid template]Middletown Mayor Kenneth Branner was quick to share his vision of the Christiana Care site in Middletown.
“Now that we have an emergency center, we need a hospital,” the mayor said in remarks shortly before the ribbon cutting for the facility.
The new Middletown Emergency Department of Christiana Care opened for business on Tuesday to serve the faster growing southern end of New Castle County. Christiana Care is the largest health care system in Delaware.
Branner said the need for the center can be seen in the growing number of emergency calls within the town limits. Such calls have been rising at a rate of 10 percent a year, he noted. Christiana Care officials say no expansion is on the immediate horizon at the center , which takes up a small portion of a large tract at Route 299 and Brick Road on the east end of the town.
The cautious stance is not unexpected in a rapidly changing health care environment where technology and efforts to contain costs are top priorities.
Christiana has operated physician practices and other services in Middletown for many years. Other health care providers, including Union Hospital, Elkton, and Bayhealth, Dover, also have a presence in the fast-growing area.
The $34 million, 36,000 square-foot center will serve nearly 90,000 residents in the Middletown/Odessa/Townsend area by providing access to urgent health care. It is located on Route 299 and Brick Road on the east end of the town.
The center will have board-certified emergency physicians and nurses, 18 treatment rooms, eight observation units, helipad, around-the-clock operation, and laboratory and imaging services.
Middletown will be able to handle the most serious cases, treating patients before they are transported via helicopter or ambulance to Christiana or other hospitals.
However, many cases will be more routine in nature and the facility will eliminate the need for a trip to the Christiana Hospital or Kent General Hospital in Dover. Both are about a half-hour drive from Middletown, depending on traffic.
The center will employ 90 and resulted in 300 construction jobs It is expected to serve 1,250 patients a month.
Contractor is Bancroft Construction Co., Wilmington.
Comments are closed.