Capital Region Medical Center officials expect to break ground around the first of the year on a $35 million expansion of the hospital's Madison Street campus in Jefferson City.
Martin Grabanski, CRMC's director of facilities, updated the Cole County Commission on the status of the expansion at Wednesday's commission meeting.
He said one of the main goals of the expansion is to enhance outpatient care at the hospital.
"The future of health care is preventive health care," Grabanski said. "The outpatient center will better serve you."
The expansion includes adding 115,000 square feet to the facility, increasing hospital space by a third.
The outpatient expansion includes adding rooms for ambulatory services, which are health care services provided to patients who are then able to return home and not required to stay overnight at the hospital. It also includes an addition of two floors of medical offices and a floor and a half of parking.
The expansion moves the entrance of CRMC farther northeast, although the entrance will remain on Madison Street. The expanded facility will extend northeast across Woodlawn Avenue, onto land previously occupied by the Doctors Park Building. The building was demolished in September.
CRMC is working closely with the city, as well as the county, to expedite the development.
The project includes transitioning Monroe Street to two-way traffic and redevelopment of the intersection at Monroe and Stadium. It also includes utility work.
Grabanski said CRMC wants to include local businesses as much as possible in the expansion project.
"We've dedicated to the community in the last five years more than $43 million in expansion projects," he said. "Our commitment is to the community we serve."
County Commissioner Marc Ellinger said he's happy to see CRMC focusing on local businesses.
"This is great for your hospital, but it's also really great for the whole community," Ellinger told hospital officials and the County Commission.
Ed Farnsworth, president of CRMC, said city and county support for the project has been great, and the expansion is expected to be completed in June 2015.