Bayhealth looks to continue to grow Sussex Campus

The Bayhealth Hospital, Sussex Campus is planning a $19 million expansion.

MILFORD — To meet the steady growth of Sussex County, Bayhealth is planning to add 29 new beds and a cesarean section suite to its Milford campus, with aims to bring 60 jobs with it.

“The population of Sussex County is quickly growing, [and] our convenient location directly off Route 1 has increased access for this fast-growing area,” Bayhealth President and CEO Terry Murphy told Delaware Business Times. “Overall, after opening our doors in February 2019 we saw increased volumes across the board as more members of our community chose us for their care.”

The $19 million expansion will include renovating the empty fifth floor of the Bayhealth Hospital Sussex Campus for private patient beds and building a C-section suite in 1,500 square feet of shelled space on the campus. 

In addition, Bayhealth plans to convert administration office space on the third floor into private patient rooms, including five women’s services beds. These rooms will be dedicated to labor, delivery, recovery and post-partum rooms.

With the expansion, Murphy said that 60 jobs would be created, including nurses, respiratory therapists, surgical technicians, environmental services, and dietary team members.

Since the $315 million Sussex Campus opened in February 2019, Murphy said that Bayhealth has seen a significant growth in admissions, observation cases and the number of babies born. The hospital that sits off Route 1 opened with 128 beds, and was built with expansion in mind.

This December, Bayhealth will open its Nemours duPont Pediatrics building, expanding specialty services and primary care for children and bringing 35 jobs with it. Nemours will operate out of the first floor while Bayhealth will use the second and third floors for office space.

The hospital system has also bought land surrounding the Sussex Campus to safeguard its growth.

“The proposed expansion project was thoughtfully and efficiently planned when we designed the hospital,” Murphy said. “Most of the necessary infrastructure is already in place, making it easy to convert the spaces into patient care areas.”

Bayhealth has also set its sights to expanding further south, with an announcement it was moving forward with plans to build a $35 million outpatient care and emergency room facility near Milton.

By Katie Tabeling

ktabeling@delawarebusinesstimes.com