United Memorial Medical Center (UMMC) hosted a ceremonial groundbreaking for its surgical expansion project on Oct. 15. The project, estimated at $20 million, will add a 44,000 s/f, one story addition to the front of the main hospital building. Operating rooms (OR) will double in size from 300 to 600 s/f with a total of five operating rooms, one treatment room and 19 private recovery beds. Currently, medical imaging and surgical equipment is "pushed into" an OR space that was built based on a 1950s model of medicine when the surgery area was constructed. Medicine has evolved greatly over the last 50 years and the new surgical area will offer a modern environment and state of the art equipment to the residents of Genesee County. A boom system will be employed to suspend necessary equipment from the ceiling; freeing up floor space, reducing clutter and trip hazards and allowing staff 360˚ access to the patient without disruption. The new layout also will allow for the use of up to date anesthesia medication administration equipment. Equipment costs, alone, contribute to $1.5 million of budgeted expense. Enhanced technology will have pre-sets available for individual physicians' preferences for lights, cameras, and music. The surgeon will be able to dim or change the lighting and use telephone or data capabilities without removing their hands from the surgical field. The ability to feed video images at bedside enables the surgeon to consult directly with other physicians in real time. This video integration will also improve United Memorial's telemedicine capabilities. Included in the renovation project is a new visitor elevator, chapel, gift shop and snack kiosk. The waiting areas and lobby will be comfortable; decorated in a soft color palette with abundant natural light. The main entrance and front parking lots have been redesigned to allow for ease of access, without stairs or steps and handicapped accessible. Exterior landscaping and the architecture of the façade will be sympathetic to the residential neighborhood. Space occupied now by the surgical department will integrated into the new project and repurposed for offices and as support space. United Memorial is proud to serve as Genesee County's War Memorial and is working closely with Veterans' Services to relocate the monument to a compatible location on the campus. While deemed necessary during the merger of Genesee Memorial and St. Jerome Hospitals ten years ago, the expansion has been actively planned for the past 18 months following United Memorial's success in achieving financial stability. Architectural services were provided by Clark Patterson Lee and construction will be completed by Manning Squires Hennig. Completion is expected in January 2011.