Morton Plant North Bay Hospital Creates New Medical Campus to Serve West Pasco

Starkey Medical Tower and Medical Arts Building Are Completed

NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla., March 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With the completion of the Starkey Medical Tower and its new Medical Arts Building, Morton Plant North Bay Hospital is well on its way to creating a modern community-based medical complex to serve the West Pasco community for generations to come.

"By doubling the size of our campus and adding the latest available technology and equipment, the expansion in effect creates a new hospital campus," said John Couris, chief operating officer, Morton Plant North Bay Hospital.

The new hospital campus features:

• The four-story, 56,000 square foot Starkey Medical Tower with new private patient rooms, increasing the total number of patient beds at Morton Plant North Bay by over 25 percent to 154 beds.  The Starkey Medical Tower also includes a new Intensive Care Unit (ICU), cardiac unit, medical surgical unit, new respiratory care services and community education facilities.
• The new three-story, 45,000-square-foot Medical Arts Building is the center for outpatient care and offers an expanded four-bed sleep disorders center, outpatient lab, outpatient rehabilitation services and an enclosed, connected walkway to the main hospital. All patient registration services have been centralized to the Medical Arts building which has a covered walkway connecting it to the hospital. The building also contains offices for primary care physicians and specialists, a new addition to the Morton Plant North Bay campus.

Advanced Care

"The Starkey Medical Tower features the most advanced medical technology for patient care. This is most evident in the new Intensive Care Unit," said Peter Rossi, MD, president of Morton Plant North Bay's medical staff. Equipment and outlets usually located on walls or taking up space on the floor are attached to a system with moveable arms allowing for the bed to be positioned in the center of the room to provide the care team with more accessibility to the patient. The ICU also features new state-of-the-art beds featuring an air mattress system, scale, lateral rotation and percussion for patient comfort and caregiver productivity. Nursing work stations are located just outside patient rooms so that nurses can be closer to their patients.

Improved Patient Access

"The Medical Arts Building will give us the opportunity to improve access to patient care by having more physician offices right on our hospital campus," said Couris. Additionally, the Medical Arts Building has dedicated space for outpatient rehabilitation. "Previously outpatient rehabilitation was provided within our Mitchell Rehabilitation Hospital alongside hospital patients. Now patients can come directly to the Medical Arts Building and receive rehabilitation therapies in a setting dedicated to their needs," said Couris. Plans also call for a coffee bar located in the building later in the year.

In addition to the Starkey Medical Tower and Medical Arts Building, additional features planned for completion later in 2010 include:

• Renovations to the Mitchell Rehabilitation Hospital
• Renovations to the hospital's emergency room with four additional beds
• A fitness trail along the hospital's water retention area with exercise stations
• New physician's lounge

Cost of the Morton Plant North Bay expansion is $49 million. The architect for the project is Harvard Jolly, Inc., Tampa, Florida. The developer of the medical office building is Lauth Property Group also based in Orlando. The contractor is Brasfield & Gorrie, LLC of Orlando, Florida.

For more information about Morton Plant North Bay Hospital's expansion, call (727) 953-6906.

About Morton Plant North Bay Hospital

Established in 1965, Morton Plant North Bay Hospital is a 154-bed facility committed to improving the health of everyone it serves. In 2008, the hospital was awarded Magnet Designation for the second time by the American Nurses Credentialing Center, the most prestigious national recognition of excellence in nursing care. Morton Plant North Bay has also received the Gold Seal of Approval^TM for Primary Stroke Care from the Joint Commission. Morton Plant North Bay Hospital is located at 6600 Madison Street, New Port Richey, Fla.

About BayCare Health System

BayCare Health System is the largest community-based health system in the region, providing expert medical care for a patient's lifetime.  Composed of hospitals and numerous affiliated services, the system connects patients to a complete range of services throughout the Tampa Bay area.  Together, BayCare organizations seek to advance the health of their patients and their communities. 

Member hospitals are Mease Countryside, Mease Dunedin, Morton Plant, Morton Plant North Bay, St. Anthony's, St. Joseph's, St. Joseph's Children's, St. Joseph's Women's, St. Joseph's Hospital North and South Florida Baptist.  On the web: www.baycare.org.

SOURCE BayCare Health System