Akron-based Summa Health announced today plans for $350 million in facility upgrades.
Most of the funds--$270 million--will go toward constructing a new six-story tower and a 50,000-square-foot ambulatory clinic at Akron City Hospital. The first round of funds will also apply to renovations at Barberton Hospital.
The remaining $80 million will be invested in other upgrades in the project’s second phase.
President and CEO Dr. Thomas Malone says the overhaul will mean lower costs and a more patient-focused approach to care.
“What we’re hoping to do is create a model where we have [a] team-based approach where a multidisciplinary group of clinicians can all be in one location," Malone said. "And when a patient comes in who has more than one issue, we can provide the care around the patient as opposed to the patient going elsewhere.”
Summa Health plans to break ground on its new facilities by this time next year. Project completion at the Akron campus is expected sometime in 2019.
