REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. -Beebe Healthcare's new Specialty Surgical Hospital is set to open this May. The four-story state-of-the-art surgical hospital is located right off of Route 24. The hospital took 18 months to build and cost $125 million.
Doctors say this new hospital will allow people to receive world-class care without driving to a different state, and they also hope it will attract more doctors to Beebe.
"We are now really in the middle of the epicenter of all the growth that is happening, and it will be easier access to advanced innovative care for people who want to get that kind of care in Sussex County," said Dr. David Tam, president and CEO of Beebe Healthcare.
The hospital has four operating rooms, which can allow surgeons to do up to 20 surgeries a day using robotic and minimally invasive technology. There are 18 bay rooms for pre and post-operative care. Beebe says it aims to treat every patient's needs with a focus on bariatric, orthopedic, and breast procedures.
"Not only does it improve the quality of the surgery by having more space, more efficiency, and frankly better lighting overall, but more importantly it allows our efficiency to significantly improve," said orthopedic surgeon Joseph Farrell.
There are 24 patient rooms, intended to feel like home, that also boast innovative safety features. Some rooms even feature a mural of the coast that patients can see right from their beds.
"It's very special, we actually designed it with a patient in mind, and the families," said Nurse Manager Regina Newell.
The hospital also features x-ray and CT scan rooms, a rehab room with stairs, a makeshift car and a kitchen, to train patients before they head home. Plus, the cancer center next door can send blood samples underground to the surgical hospital's laboratory in less than two minutes.
Beebe's new specialty surgical hospital is located at 19161 Healthy Way. That is significant because Beebe healthcare was founded in 1916.
"I've built several hospitals in my career, but there are have been so many little things that all add up, really to help make sure that the details support not just patient and families but staff as well," said Dr. Tam.
Dr. Tam says Beebe is advancing care to meet the needs of the community. He says they are not stopping and are going to keep going to improve the community's health.
The healthcare system also announced on Monday that the Rehoboth Health Campus walk-in care center will become the new Beebe Healthcare Breast Center.