Bayhealth moves forward with new medical campus

CannonDesign, an international architecture and engineering firm that began as a family company in New York in 1945, has been selected as Bayhealth’s lead partner for designing the new campus that will be built on a 165-acre plot off Route 1, at the corner of Wilkins and Cedar Creek roads.

Bayhealth President and CEO Terry Murphy said building a better patient experience was prioritized while selecting a firm to design the new medical campus.

“They needed to understand that Bayhealth was looking for more than just blueprints,” he said in a press release. “What impressed us most about CannonDesign was how they first work to understand the clinical process before beginning design. This true understanding of the clinical workflow improves efficiency and eliminates waste. The benefit is a better experience for our patients, their families, medical staff and employees.”

The health campus will include a state-of-the-art inpatient hospital and emergency department, as well as the addition of outpatient services such as diagnostic services, and primary care and specialist physicians.

Bayhealth also has selected the firm tasked with re-imagining the use of the Clarke Avenue facility; Bayhealth representatives said more information will be released when contract negotiations are finalized.

Milford Mayor Bryan Shupe said the selection of design firms displays commitment from Bayhealth to move forward with the new health campus.

“I’m glad to see that Terry Murphy and his whole team at Bayhealth are jumping on this big project as soon as possible,” Shupe said. “It’s great to see they’re also committed to repurposing the Clarke Avenue facility, and Milford will be a big part of that discussion as well. It’s important for residents to understand Bayhealth wants to be a good neighbor, not only with the new health campus but in re-imagining the Clark Avenue facility as well.”

Bayhealth representatives continue to explore options of reuse for the existing Milford Memorial Hospital with state and local leaders. The selected adaptive reuse firm, which has not yet been announced, will bring detailed expertise to repurpose the 76-year-old hospital.

“We’re eager to bring everyone into this process, and we’re looking forward to achieving new milestones as we drive forward to open the doors of the new health campus in 2018,” Murphy said.

Shupe said discussions are in the works about what the current hospital could be used for in the future, but working with higher learning institutes may be a favorable option.

“I don’t want to pigeonhole ourselves in one direction, but I do think maybe working with institutes of higher learning in Delaware – the University of Delaware, DelTech, Wesley College – and seeing if they’re interested in bringing adult education here to the Milford area is an option,” Shupe said. “That’s been a key component that I think we’ve been lacking as a city for quite some time, and I think higher education could boost the local economy and help our younger leaders come back home, or start at home, to find a career or advancing opportunities.”

Since Bayhealth’s November announcement, officials have said the repurposing of Milford Memorial Hospital will take local residents’ ideas into consideration. A website launched in fall 2014 states that community involvement has been at the core of Milford Memorial Hospital’s history, and that Bayhealth intends to continue that legacy.

For more information, go to imagineDE.com.