Each month, 800 new families move into our community, and residents of the Main Line, Chester County and surrounding areas are increasingly choosing Paoli Hospital for their care:

• In the past five years alone, the number of admissions to the Hospital has risen from 10,276 to 12,630, an increase of 23%.  
• Visits to the Emergency Department increased 25% from 26,214 to 32,875. 
• Total number of surgeries rose 25%, with the number of open-heart surgeries being a significant part of our growth.
• Number of births more than doubled to 2,300 in one year.
• From 2006 through 2015, the population within the Hospital's service area is expected to increase by over 7.5% annually, one of the fastest rates in the state. 
• The number of adult patients over the age of 65 is expected to grow by 13,859 between 2005 and 2012, an increase of 19%.
• Over the next 10 years, community demographics suggest that the hospital's admissions will grow by 75%, surgeries by 71%, and emergency department visits by 34%.
  

Given our current needs, trends in health care and future projections, Paoli Hospital must expand its current facilities to meet the health care needs of our growing community -- and to maintain our high standards of care.

Over the last few decades, health care has taken a tremendous leap forward, bringing new life-saving technologies that were not available even a few years ago. Medical advances have been especially significant in areas such as surgery and critical care, which serve patients with the greatest needs.

Paoli Hospital has always invested in the latest equipment to keep our programs and services up-to-date. In certain key departments, however, we offer 21st century care in spaces built to the standards of an earlier era. We now have a remarkable opportunity to build emergency, operating and patient rooms that:

• Accommodate both current and future medical technologies
• Incorporate "evidence-based design" -- special features to promote patient safety and recovery time based on research and best practices in the field of health care

Paoli Hospital has carefully considered all of these issues while planning our new Patient Care Pavilion through consultations with our staff, other hospitals and design experts. In 2007, we will break ground for the four-story building that will create a transformed environment for the care of Paoli's patients when it opens in 2009.

New Emergency Department

Community members of all ages come to Paoli's Emergency Department every day for problems ranging from minor sprains to life-threatening chest pain.

Board-certified Emergency Medicine physicians, skilled nurses and other specially-trained staff care for patients with a complex range of medical needs around the clock.

The Hospital expects to treat 32,000 emergency cases this year, and 44,000 by 2017. 

Limitations of Paoli's current Emergency Department:

• Built 23 years ago to handle 18,000 patients a year (one-half of the current volume)
• After maximizing all available space in our Emergency Department, on busy days patients still need to wait for care, or the hospital is forced to "divert" ambulances to other hospitals

Highlights of the New Emergency Department:

• Easily accessible on the ground floor of the new Patient Care Pavilion
• Number of treatment rooms will expand from 16 to 29
• More patient/family-focused design in all areas
• Easy, user-friendly registration process
• More comfortable patient/family reception areas
• Private conference rooms for families to talk with physicians, nurses and social workers
• Imaging equipment to provide quicker diagnoses and treatment
• A "fast-track" area specifically to treat patients with less serious conditions

New Surgical Department

Paoli Hospital's highly skilled surgeons and surgical nurses are busy in the Operating Rooms from 7:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. performing complex surgeries such as:

• Open-heart surgeries 
• Cancer surgeries
• Neurosurgery
• Hip and knee replacements

Last year, Paoli surgeons performed over 6,500 operations and we expect to exceed 11,000 within 10 years.

Limitations of Paoli's current Operating Suites:

• Built to handle 5,000 operations annually
• Some rooms built 20 years ago to standards of an earlier time
• Cannot efficiently house high-tech equipment essential for modern surgery

Highlights of the New Surgical Suite:

• Easily accessible on 1st floor of the new Patient Care Pavilion
• Number of operating rooms will expand from 8 to 14
• Equipped for specialties such as heart, orthopedics and urology
• More comfortable areas for patients before and after surgery
• More isolation rooms for infection control 
• Conference room for surgical education 
• Location above new Emergency Department and below new Intensive Care Unit will improve flow of patients, so critically ill patients receive priority care
• Leading-edge facilities will continue to attract top-quality surgeons

New Intensive Care Unit

Paoli Hospital's Intensive Care Unit treats some of the most critically ill patients in the Hospital:

• Patients with heart attacks and strokes
• Patients recovering from open-heart surgery and other serious operations

Limitations of Current Intensive Care Unit:

• Built 25 years ago
• 14-bed unit no longer sufficient to serve our patient population
• Average daily number of patients has more than doubled
• Nationwide, intensive care has changed dramatically - more room is needed to accommodate new technologies at patient's bedside
• Little space available for families

Highlights of New Intensive Care Unit:

• 28 patient rooms - double the size of the current unit
• All private rooms - in keeping with latest standards in critical care
• Rooms built on principles of evidence-based design - to meet unique needs of patients, families and specialists
• Waiting areas for visiting families and friends - larger and more comfortable
• Private consultation rooms - for physicians and other specialists to discuss patient care issues with families
• Easily accessible - for emergency and surgical patients

New Private Patient Unit

More and more people in our community are choosing Paoli Hospital when they need medical care. Our number of patients admitted to the hospital for care is expected to increase from 9,900 this year to more than 17,000 annually ten years from now. To serve these patients, we will build a 32-private room patient care unit on the 3rd floor of the new Patient Care Pavilion, and construct a 64-private room unit on the new 4th floor for future needs.

Now considered the highest standard of care, private rooms contribute to a patient's recovery by promoting rest and by reducing the risk of infection, falls and medical errors.

Other Planned Improvements...

• A new Arrivals Pavilion and 737-space parking garage connected with an enclosed overhead bridge

…For a Hospital Recognized for Its High Standards

• Awarded Magnet™ status by the American Nurses Credentialing Center for excellence in nursing care - an award granted to only 200 of the nation's 6,000 hospitals
• For two years in a row, Paoli was one of only 20 hospitals in the nation (among 1,000 mid-sized hospitals) to be named a Top 100 Hospital® by Solucient, a provider of health care data and analysis
• Recognized as one of the Best Places to Work in Pennsylvania in 2005, placing third out of 50 organizations

Today's hospital is expected to accomplish two extraordinary feats:

1. Manage costs like a business
2. Provide care like a family

As reflected in our high patient satisfaction scores, and the funds we have saved for reinvesting in our facilities, Paoli Hospital has managed to achieve both. However, our new Patient Care Pavilion will cost an extraordinary $145 million - the most ambitious undertaking in Paoli's history. To accomplish this, we will need a combination of the following:

1. Our own savings: past and future, will be reinvested into this important project, covering $100 million of the cost.
2. Prudent borrowing: a manageable level of debt ($30 million) will allow us to move forward with this expansion.
3. Community support: we have launched a $16.5 million capital campaign to support the most significant expansion in Paoli's history.
   

We encourage you to make a gift to support our Expansion Campaign. Please call 610-648-1465 or Click Here to download and print out our mailable contribution form.