$144M tower expansion at UofL Hospital to add more private rooms, hundreds of jobs

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A $144 million expansion at University of Louisville Hospital is expected to add new beds, several new rooms and hundreds of jobs.

Monday afternoon, hospital officials announced plans to add a new seven-story tower to the building in downtown Louisville.

The "West Tower" is part of a planned $144 million expansion and upgrade of the hospital, "increasing the hospital's operating capacity and facilitate a phased modernization."

Officials said the expansion will allow the hospital to treat more patients and reduce wait times. UofL Hospital staff said the added space is desperately needed.

"I can't even explain to you how bad the space is needed," Kim Wilson, director of Critical Care Services, said.

Wilson said it's not unheard of for ER patients to wait three to four days for a room.

"Our ER is fabulous, but it's not an in-patient unit. That's not why it was created," she said. "So to be able to have more beds so patients only stay in the ER just as long as they need to, and then go to the privacy of their room, will be great."

When the project is completed, the hospital will have more than 360 beds in private rooms, 20 operating rooms and a new 24-bed observation unit.

The expansion will also add a new lobby, waiting area and updates to the hospital's gift and coffee shops.

"This new West Tower expansion is just going to provide a place for these nurses and countless others to just do the world class care that our patients and families expect," Wilson said.

Along with the seven planned stories, the expansion "will also include the infrastructure to accommodate two more floors for future growth."

"The opportunity to plan for the future health care of our academic health system, it's a great opportunity for us to make a difference, one that's long overdue," UofL Health CEO Tom Miller said.

It's an overdue expansion and investment that staff are thrilled to see.

"It always seemed like, just to be something like 'OK, yeah, we're gonna get a tower,' but now to actually see it happening is amazing, it's exciting," Wilson said. "It's needed, and I'm just so grateful we're getting it."

Additionally, officials said the project will also expand UofL Health by bringing 325 new jobs, including nurses and clinical and non-clinical support. Those new employees will also be eligible for free undergraduate tuition to UofL.

UofL Hospital is the main teaching and research hospital for UofL Health and the University of Louisville, one of 120 academic medical centers in the nation. With its Level 1 Trauma Center, one of just two in the state of Kentucky for adults, it's also home to a burn unit, its Comprehensive Stroke Center and the UofL Health-Brown Cancer Center.

"UofL Hospital is one of the anchors in our downtown academic medical center campus, a hub of specialized care, progressive academic research, and innovative treatments," Miller said in a news release. "We are investing, here, to meet demand and increase access everywhere."

Funding for the project comes from internal capital investment, bond financing, hospital revenue bonds and private donations.

Crews broke ground on the expansion Monday. It's expected to be completed in early 2024.