Community Health Outlines $250M Project

Indy Chamber News Archives

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Community Health Network is making a major investment in Indianapolis with two new large building projects totaling more than a quarter of a billion dollars. The first will include a $175 million development with a new hospital on the campus of Community Hospital East and a new $60 million cancer center at Community Hospital North. Both projects will break ground this year.

"As healthcare continues to evolve, Community Health Network will strive to provide access to quality care with an emphasis on the overall patient experience," said Bryan Mills, president and CEO of Community Health Network. "At Community Hospital East, we realized building a new hospital for the future was, in the end, a better avenue than renovating antiquated buildings meant for a different time in our history. At Community Hospital North, increases in patient volume dictated the need for a new cancer center. Our commitment to Indianapolis remains strong."

The Community Hospital East project changes in scope from the original plan announced last fall. That plan called for major renovation of the decades-old hospital. The redesigned plan calls for the construction of an entirely new hospital, which will take Community East into the future for many years to come. The project includes demolishing four buildings on the campus, building the new hospital tower housing inpatient and procedural rooms and moving its Family Medicine Center from 10th and Mithoeffer to the campus at 1500 N. Ritter. In 2016, a new emergency department, to be located at the back of the hospital, will be built. The redevelopment project is expected to be completed two years sooner than the original plan - and with virtually no disruption to patient care.

"We believe construction of a new hospital will bring dramatic, positive change to the east side," said Mills. "The new campus will provide the space our East employees need to deliver innovative healthcare in the most efficient manner. Community Hospital East will become a new modern structure that will be a pillar for the east side of Indianapolis."

Community Health Network will be expanding oncology services with the new cancer center on the campus of Community Hospital North. The $60 million, three-story, 104,000 square foot facility will be built south of Community Heart and Vascular Hospital along Shadeland Avenue. It will also be connected to Community Hospital North.

The new cancer center will keep the facility name, Community Cancer Center North, and was designed with input from patients, physicians and staff. It will feature elements that create a home-like atmosphere. Patients will control their surroundings, including room temperature, lighting, entertainment, food choices, and privacy. The cancer center will also feature wellness facilities, quiet workspaces, public Wi-Fi, a knowledge center, and a nature garden.

"At Community, we understand that cancer is a life-changing experience for patients and their families," said Jianan Graybill, M.D., radiation oncologist and lead physician on the project. "Our new center was designed to allow them to carry on much of their usual routine and activities as possible while undergoing treatments. They may use the workspaces to conduct business or use Skype to keep distant family members updated."

The Community Hospital East project will break ground in July, followed by an early fall groundbreaking for the cancer center at Community Hospital North.

About Community Health Network

Ranked among the nation's most integrated healthcare systems, Community Health Network is Central Indiana's leader in providing convenient access to exceptional healthcare services, where and when patients need them - in hospitals, health pavilions and doctor’s offices, as well as workplaces, schools and homes. As a non-profit health system with over 200 sites of care and affiliates throughout Central Indiana, Community’s full continuum of care integrates hundreds of physicians, specialty and acute care hospitals, surgery centers, home care services, MedChecks, behavioral health and employer health services. To learn more, visit eCommunity.com or call 800-777-7775.

Source: Community Health Network