REHOBOTH BEACH, Del.- The final phase of Beebe Healthcare's nearly $200 million expansion is underway.
On Wednesday, Beebe executives, employees, and patients broke ground on Beebe's new surgical center on Route 24. Once constructed, the four-story facility will house Beebe's robotic surgery program and many other services.
"[There will be] primarily elective cases, orthopedic cases, general surgery cases, gynecologic cases," explains Interim CEO Rick Schaffner. "Over time we are also going to relocate our women's pavilion from our Margaret H. Rollins campus out here to this campus as well, so there will be a great new women and babies floor created within this facility."
Beebe Board Chairman Dave Herbert spoke at the facility's groundbreaking about the incoming groundbreaking technology.
"The difference between some of these minimally invasive surgeries and the older surgeries, the older technology can mean the difference of eight days in the hospital," he tells WRDE. "So it makes a big difference to the quality of life of people."
The "I Believe in Beebe" campaign has a goal of 34 million--more than double the past highest fundraising campaign of $12.5 million. Beebe Medical Foundation head Judy Aliquo says the new facility's location is especially valuable.
"We all know if you just drive up and down Route One that our area is growing in leaps and bounds and so Beebe has really looked at that," she says. "What does our community need? All our projects are really designed to really address that need."
The surgical center is expected to open in 2022.