Summa Health plans to pump $350 million into its facilities, including construction of a new six-story tower on its main campus on the edge of downtown Akron.
The building — facing North Adolph Street, overlooking state Route 8 — will serve as Summa Akron City Hospital’s new main entrance, as well as house a women’s health center and help shift most of the hospital’s inpatient rooms from shared to private.
Summa also plans to build a 50,000-square-foot medical office building on its main campus off East Market Street and spend $22 million on additional improvements to make Barberton Hospital a more user-friendly community hospital.
“Today is especially significant because it marks the beginning of a new era of health care at Summa Health,” Dr. Thomas Malone, Summa’s president and CEO, said in a prepared statement released on Tuesday.
The changes will not only help Summa compete against other local hospitals, he told the Beacon Journal, but further its goal of patient-centered care. With the patient-centered approach, Summa coordinates all of its medical services to work on a patient’s overall health, rather than tackling individual medical issues.
The oldest part of City Hospital was founded in 1892 with a $10,000 donation from Dutch immigrant Boniface DeRoo. The hospital and surrounding medical campus evolved over the years, but Tuesday’s announcement signified one of its larger transformations.
“Think about it. That’s more than a one-quarter billion dollars,” Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan said, adding that Summa’s investment helps build on Akron’s biomedical corridor, linking the city’s hospitals and research facilities.
Summa will split its $350 million commitment into two phases over 10 years.
Most of the money — $270 million — will be spent in the initial phase, which includes the tower and a medical office building at City Hospital and changes to Barberton.
The rest — $80 million — is slated to be invested in five years. Most of the money will be spent on renovations or relocation of Summa’s behavioral health center, which is housed at St. Thomas Hospital.
Much depends on Crystal Clinic Orthopaedic Center, which leases space in St. Thomas from Summa, Malone said.
The lease with Summa ends about the time Summa’s Phase II is slated to begin. If Crystal Clinic stays, Summa could renovate St. Thomas and keep its behavioral health center there, Malone said.
But if Western Reserve Western Hospital Partners — which is locked in a legal battle with Summa — decides to vacate Summa-owned Western Reserve Hospital in Cuyahoga Falls, Summa could move its behavioral health center there or somewhere else entirely, Malone said.
Details of Phase II are more fluid than Phase I.
Construction schedule
Construction of Summa’s new tower is scheduled to begin in the spring of 2017, with a grand opening in the summer of 2019.
It will occupy the same space on City Hospital’s campus that in 2007 was slated to become an orthopedic specialty center. That project fell through when the national economy tanked and funding was difficult to secure.
Summa, which struck a deal with a minority owner in 2013, is better positioned to make the tower and the rest of the projects happen now, health system officials said.
It plans to pay about $50 million in cash toward the projects and finance the rest through two 30-year bonds, officials said.
Five years ago, Summa had enough cash holdings to keep operations going about 125 days if cash flow stopped, hospital officials said. Now that has nearly doubled to cover about 230 days.
Similarly, its debt-to-capitalization ratio has improved from about 50 percent five years ago to 31 or 32 percent now. And even after issuing the bonds, the capitalization ratio should remain under 38 percent.
Malone shared news of Summa’s plans with employees Tuesday during meetings.
About 25 teams of employees this year will help architects, planners and administrators decide how best to use the new space.
Welcome center
Malone said the ground floor of the tower will house a welcome center, patient registration, Summa’s breast screening and wellness center and other public spaces.
Two floors will be dedicated to Summa’s Women’s Health Center, including a labor and delivery unit and other gynecology services, will be relocated from an older part of the hospital.
“We haven’t had something like this in years and years and years,” said Dr. Vivian E. von Gruenigen, who directs the center. “We do about 3,500 deliveries a year, so this is going to help us expand and integrate what we do.”
Two floors will be dedicated to general inpatient rooms, where many sick patients will stay while recovering from an illness or after surgery.
Only about 35 percent of City Hospital’s patient rooms are private now, Malone said. Summa will boost that to about 80 percent to protect patients against infectious disease and to give patients what they want.
“The last thing you want to do is meet a neighbor [in your hospital room] when you’re not feeling well,” Malone said.
Expanded operating rooms will also fill part of the new tower, which will be connected to the existing hospital structure on at least two floors.
About the same time, construction will begin on a separate medical office building designed for one-stop medical care for patients.
“Instead of a patient going to multiple offices, this is the one place they’ll have to visit,” Malone said, adding that spaces will accommodate teams of doctors collaborating on patient care.
In Barberton, meanwhile, renovations aim to make access easier, Malone said, adding that no services will cease.
Summa has already invested $50 million into the facility in recent years and will spend $22 million more on outpatient care, including its endoscopy and imaging centers and entrance, he said. Summa will also tear down the parking garage at the hospital and is working with Barberton city officials to replace lost spaces with additional surface parking lots.
Summa has momentum and commitment to the community, Malone said.
“People are going to see we’re invested and we’re here to stay,” he said.
Amanda Garrett can be reached at 330-996-3725 or agarrett@thebeaconjournal.com.