Washoe Med to operate two hospitals

When Washoe Health System finishes

its expansion of its South Meadows campus,

it will be the only provider in the

region to operate two hospitals Washoe

Medical Center South Meadows and

Washoe Medical Center in downtown

region.

Washoe Med last week announced plans

for a major expansion of its South

Meadows campus. The project will expand

Washoe Village near South Meadows and

Double R boulevards to create Washoe

Medical Center South Meadows.

The work also will include the construction

of two new facilities, the Diagnostic

and Treatment Pavilion and a medical office

building to house the Washoe Institute for

Neuroscience.

"We have known of the projected

growth in south Reno for some time, and

that led us to plan for an expansion when

community demand warranted it. We will

now have a facility in an ideal location to

serve not only Reno, but all of south

Washoe County," said Jim Miller, president

and chief executive officer of Washoe

Medical.

Washoe Health System, the largest

health care provider in the region, expects to

complete work in South Meadows in early

2004. Washoe Village, which opened in

1999, was build with the basic structures to

accommodate conversion to a full-service

medical center.

Construction will add 116,000 square

feet to the campus. The architect for the

project is HMC Architects of Nevada, and

the construction companies are Shaver

Construction, Inc. and Gough

Construction.

The three main components of the project

include:

Washoe Medical Center South

Meadows: The existing building will be

remodeled to add an intensive care unit,

and medical- surgical beds. Sub-acute,

urgent care, outpatient and rehabilitation

services already are offered at the site.

Diagnostic and Treatment Pavilion: The

51,000 square-foot building will house a

new surgical unit with suites equipped for

most surgical procedures; a laboratory; and

a full-service radiology department with

state-of-the-art imaging equipment.

Medical Office Building: The Terrace at

South Meadows, a 66,000-square-foot

medical office building, will provide space

for physician offices and Washoe Institute

for Neurosciences. In addition, the outpatient

and urgent care services currently

available in the medical center will be relocated.