Bayhealth builds new Harrington medical office

Since 2019, Bayhealth has spent $28.4 million on property acquisition in Kent and Sussex County, according to land records. Just under a million was spent on land for a new Harrington building. | PHTO BY KATIE TABELING

HARRINGTON — Bayhealth is on track to open a $3.75 million Harrington facility by early next year, combining two offices into a single-story building on U.S. Route 13.

The 10,000-square-foot building, built by Lessard Builders of Camden, will combine Bayhealth’s primary care office and its outpatient services in Harrington. Fifteen employees, including a family medicine and internal medicine practitioner, will relocate to the new medical office.

It’s unclear at this time how many new jobs will the move create, Bayheath spokeswoman Alice Rauch said.

Bayhealth’s new Harrington office will have 20 exam and treatment rooms, several blood draw stations, a coumadin clinic and outpatient testing services, including lab and imaging.

Bayhealth previously leased out space at 201 and 205 Shaw Ave. in Harrington, and the lease was expected to expire soon. But the Dover-based health care system said this was a long-planned move — Bayhealth bought the land in Harrington for $945,000 in 2020.

In the last decade, Bayhealth has been bullish on growth, particularly in Sussex County. The health care system built a new, $315 million campus in Milford, and later announced a $19 million renovation and partnerships with Nemours and Post-Acute Medical Rehabilitation.

“Much like the Bayhealth Hospital, Sussex Campus, the brand new facility gives us an opportunity to improve the overall patient experience with easier access for patients, more modern exam rooms, better design, [and] space for growth,” Rauch said. “The new building was also strategically designed with extra space for future services to ensure that it can keep pace with the growth of Harrington and the surrounding communities.”

Bayhealth has also been ramping up its ancillary services in both Kent and Sussex counties. In the past four years, it has spent $28 million on property acquisitions, including $17 million on expanding its office in the Blue Hen Corporate Center in downtown Dover.

It has also secured $103 million in tax-exempt bonds from Kent and Sussex counties last year for several projects, including the new Harrington office.