Mount Nittany Medical Center could see a $70 million facilities upgrade as early as October 2010, if a series of tax-exempt bonds from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) are sold by late November.
Though the Centre County Board of Commissioners approved the hospital's financing package at its Tuesday meeting, no aspect of the plan will be financed by the cash-strapped county.
"For those bonds to be issued and to make them tax-exempt, it has to be approved by the county," board chairman Jon Eich said. "This is a bureaucratic step."
The expansion project, which would add three floors to an existing East wing completed in 2004, would make the hospital a mostly private-room facility, Mount Nittany Medical Center Director of Communications Tom Stoessel said.
"To migrate the organization toward being a majority single-patient room facility, you get a whole lot of benefits," Stoessel said. "That's really what's driving the process."
The addition of the three floors is expected to cost $40 million, Stoessel said, adding more space leads to better patient care.
"You require a lot more space for technology and equipment to surround those patients," he said.
The hospital, which currently has 203 beds, would jump to 220 beds after the three additional floors are built -- a net gain of 17 beds, Stoessel said.
Benefits like improved patient experience, better control of infectious disease and increased staff efficiency will result from the addition, he added.
The other $30 million expected to be raised through the IRS bonds could cover projects like a new cancer center, a medical office building, increased parking or improved storm-water runoff, Stoessel said.
Under the Pennsylvania Municipality Authorities Act of 1945, Centre County needed to approve the hospital's method of financing the project, Eich said.
"We took the action mandated by state law," he said. "This was a routine, unanimous approval."
Stoessel also noted the county is not connected in any way to the project's funding sources.
"The Medical Center holds the debt for the funds," he said. "The Centre County Hospital Authority is the conduit to issue those bonds and then bring the funding back to us."
The hospital authority was established by the county in 1968 to independently oversee Mount Nittany Medical Center and find financing for its initial construction project, completed in 1970.
Hospital upgrades improve the standard of living in Centre County, Eich said.
"Anytime we can improve the quality of the medical care, that adds to the quality of life here in Centre County," Eich said. "It's not only that we're adding space."
The construction, expected to kick off in winter or spring 2009, should not impact patients currently housed in the hospital's East wing.
"We believe we can do business as usual with minimal interruptions," he said.
--Collegian Staff Writer Phenola Lawrence contributed to this report.
