Jefferson Healthcare is set to break ground on their $85,000,000 campus expansion and modernization project. They will host an event to kick off the project 4 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 7 on the back patio of the ’65 building. This will be the last gathering there; that very building will be demolished to make way for newer, safer infrastructure.

The services currently offered in that building — express clinic, diagnostic MRI, OB/GYN clinic, vascular imaging, surgery pre-op, administration, and the cafeteria — will be temporarily relocated. The express clinic and OB/GYN clinic will move to other sites within Jefferson Healthcare. A mobile MRI trailer will be brought in.

“We will not drop the quality of care,” assured Jake Davidson, Chief Operating Officer. “It’ll make it a bit harder, but we will do everything in our power, communication wise, to ensure patients know where they’re going before they need to come to our campus.”

The new facility is projected to open January 2025. It will expand its medical oncology department, dermatology clinic, wound clinic, express care clinic, and OB/GYN clinic. It will also develop space for new specialty services such as pulmonology, neurology, ENT, and an updated MRI experience.

“This is a tremendous advantage for patients who previously had to travel an hour or more to receive specialty care,” said a representative of the hospital.

As the main healthcare system of the county, Jefferson Healthcare promises to “work closely” with engineers to ensure continuation of all services during construction.

Parking will also be updated to accommodate new state codes, providing a minimum amount of electronic vehicle charging stations.

The expansion project is estimated to create an additional 70 to 75 jobs at the hospital over the next five years.