Prince Frederick, MD – The nearly-50 acre campus of Calvert Memorial Hospital (CMH) will be getting a new look in the near future. During the Calvert County Planning Commission’s April 19 meeting, the panel gave its okay to a site plan review for the Prince Frederick facility’s latest planned expansion.
“This proposed site plan is for an addition to create a new patient tower, which exists currently as a developed courtyard,” principal planner Judy Mackall stated in a memo to the planning commission. “The project includes the expansion of outpatient services, medical and administrative services area reconstruction, and 40 private bed units on the second and third floor[s], no overall increase in bed units.”
According to CMH CEO Dean Teague, the redistribution of bed units is being done to transition from multi-patient rooms to private rooms. Since the number of bed units won’t be increasing, CMH will not be required to increase parking spaces.
Parking has been on ongoing issue at the hospital during its peak hours. “At peak times we are going to have people parking further out,” said Dan Kelsh of Collinson, Oliff and Associates Inc., the project agent. In response to questions from the planning commission as to whether CMH has ample parking, Kelsh pointed out that when the facility is at peak times and individuals find themselves parking on campus but a considerable distance from the building they need to access, CMH is providing a shuttle service.
“Parking has been a problem,” Teague admitted, adding that he didn’t believe constructing a parking garage will be necessary in the foreseeable future.
Teague confirmed that Calvert Internal Medicine plans to vacate their offices on the CMH campus and move to office space on Stoakley Road, on the other side of Route 2/4.
During a presentation to the Calvert County Commissioners in March 2016, Teague stated CMH’s entire expansion project—which is being phased–would cost an estimated $51 million. He also told the commissioners that the conversion to all private rooms is a popular preference among the public.
Contact Marty Madden at marty.madden@thebaynet.com