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ChristianaCare looks to invest $865M in next three years in Delaware

July 1, 2025 |By Katie Tabeling

Christiana-Hospital_May-2025 — ChristianaCare has announced plans to broaden access to high-quality care in Delaware over the next three years. | PHOTO COURTESY OF CHRISTIANACARE

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WILMINGTON — ChristianaCare plans to invest $865 million in Delaware over the course of the next three years, ranging from new facilities, programs, technology and partnerships to ensure patients have access to health care amid uncertain times. In the face of $1 trillion cuts in Medicaid that was passed in Trump’s reconciliation bill, ChristianaCare President & CEO Janice Nevin said it’s time to make a bold investment to make sure health care is still accessible. “[People] may be worried about losing their insurance if they are on Medicaid or having challenges accessing primary care. We’re making it clear to those that we serve in Delaware that we’re standing strong,” Nevin told the Delaware Business Times. “We are making the investment that we know will lead to improved health.” ChristianaCare’s bold plan includes further expansion of primary care, behavioral health, cancer care, special and surgical care expansion across the state. The first major project in this $865 million plan is the future Middletown multidisciplinary outpatient health center along Route 299. Nevin pointed to the Middletown expansion as a prime example of how ChristianaCare will meet the community needs in the years to come. ChristianaCare officials believe Middletown’s population will grow another 8% by 2029. “That area in particular is exploding in terms of growth… we are actively looking to move care that can be done in the community out of the inpatient setting and provide that care in the community,” Nevin said. Delaware’s largest health care system has been on track to expand its hold in the state by opening a primary care office in each county as well as turning to southern Pennsylvania for growth. In recent years, ChristianaCare has also launched a new partnership with in-home hospice care, as well as acquiring five Crozer Health outpatient locations. In 2024, the health care system signed an agreement with Atlas Healthcare Partners to create a surgery center network in the region. That agreement will help transition some procedures out of the emergency rooms, creating more convenience and lower costs for patients. ChristianaCare also launched a center for virtual health in 2022 as a response to the nurse shortage at the time while maintaining a high level of care, but then expanded it to other units in the hospital. It also expanded to a subscription service, where patients in Delaware and other states can pay $35 per month to be matched with a health advisor. Nevin said that ChristianaCare is already investing in technology to bring specialty care to rural parts of Delaware, such as pulmonary neurology and heart and vascular care. But looking ahead, she believes there’s a chance for more investment in rural parts of Sussex and Kent County. “In those rural communities, people might have to travel a further distance to get that level of care, and we are very committed to providing a combination of people and technology so that care can be provided closer to home,” she said. At a time when 12 million people could lose health insurance under the proposed Medicaid cuts, access may be critical in Delaware if Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill comes to pass. One in four Delawareans rely on Medicaid for health insurance, and those who live in rural areas are more likely to rely on Medicaid, according to KFF. Medicare reimbursement rates in Delaware are typically set at 80% of the cost of providing services, which means many health providers also rely on it to cover costs. “I do worry we will see an increase in the uninsured in not only Delaware but throughout the nation. Frankly, I think it’s right we make this investment. It’s about how do we provide people with the high-quality care they need in a lower-cost setting,” Nevin said. “This is our time to really lean in and be innovative in how we care for people,” she added. “We’ve been here for 130-plus years, and we want to be here for the next 130 years. It’s imperative we invest in the future.”