L.René Goux, chief executive officer of NorthShore Regional Medical Center, announced that the hospital will launch a $9.5 million expansion project. The 18-month project will concentrate on the hospital's surgery and intensive care unit (ICU).

The project will add two major operating rooms, associated support areas and double the recovery room capacity. Also included in the project is the addition of a 10-bed pre-operative area with increased privacy for patients being prepared for surgery. The intensive care unit, just outside of the operating area, will increase from 16 to 22 beds.

"We're adding a updated endoscopy area with three procedure rooms. This area will have its own six-bed pre-operative area plus a five-bed recovery area," says Goux. He anticipates that the endoscopy department will allow NorthShore Regional to accommodate about 120 to 125 more procedures per month. Most of the endoscopic procedures done at NorthShore are gastroscopies and colonoscopies. The hospital recently started doing pH monitoring to test for acid levels related to gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).

Another feature of the expansion will be the creation of a skylighted atrium next to the ICU with additional enlarged waiting areas. There will be a desk for a dedicated surgery/ICU volunteer to assist families while they wait.

In addition, to the much-needed space being added to NorthShore Regional, the hospital also will spend about $3.5 million of the projected cost on new furnishings and equipment. This will include a dedicated laparoscopic surgery room with flat-screen monitors that are positioned on a swing-arm from the ceiling and a StealthStation that allows surgeons to oview the body in dynamic, real-time 3-D images. The StealthStations's improved imaging gives surgeons the ability to create an exact, detailed plan for surgery, including the appropriate spot to make the incision, a path to the targeted area and what critical structures to avoid. The equipment has many applications in both orthopedic and neoursurgery.

The surgery/ICU project has been in the works for almost a year now, according to Stephen Newman, M.D., M.B.A. senior vice president of operations for Tenet Gulf States Region. "Final plans for the expansion have been approved, and will begin construction shortly." says Newman. "Our  physicians and employees have been very supportive in this planning effort, and their input has been invaluable. With their help, we have developed an expansion plan that will allow NorthShore Regional to continue to offer the latest in technology and service to our growing patient population."

Construction on the project is scheduled for completion by February, 2004.