LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Construction crews continue to make progress on the UofL Hospital West Tower that's expected to add new beds, new operating rooms and hundreds of jobs.
It has been a year since ground was broken on the project, and crews have made substantial progress. One big development: The tower will now feature six new operating rooms instead of four, as originally planned.Â
U of L Health on Tuesday released a timelapse video of crews working on the tower that's starting to take shape.Â
The "West Tower" is part of a planned expansion and upgrade of the hospital. Officials said the expansion will allow the hospital to treat more patients and reduce wait times. Once the seven-story tower is complete, UofL Hospital will expand to 360 private beds, 20 operating rooms and a new 24-bed observation unit.
In September, UofL Health Chief Operating Officer Ken Marshall said the new space is in high demand because every bed inside of their hospital is full right now.Â
"Our mission here has been to take care of the community we have," Marshall said. "This is going to allow us to do that and it's going to allow us to do it in a facility that is state of the art and meets the needs of what people are really expecting of us here."
Marshall said they've been planning the new tower for about a decade.
The expansion will also add a new lobby, waiting area and updates to the hospital's gift and coffee shops.
Funding for the project comes from internal capital investment, bond financing, hospital revenue bonds and private donations.Â
Crews broke ground on the expansion last June.Â
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- $144M tower expansion at UofL Hospital to add more private rooms, hundreds of jobs
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