Providence launches capital campaign for $177-million expansion of Portland facilities
According to the organization, about $144 million were covered by “generous donors.”
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Providence has launched a capital campaign to boost the $177 million expansion of its emergency and critical care services.
On Tuesday, the health nonprofit addressed the ongoing construction at the Providence Portland and Providence St. Vincent medical centers.
The organization reported that its emergency departments see more than 200,000 visits each year, and there’s been an increase in patients seeking mental health treatments.
“Far too often we are caring for people in hallways and turning away ambulances due to overcrowding,” Providence St. Vincent Chief Medical Officer Ray Moreno said in a statement.
But once the renovations are complete, the two facilities are expected to have room for 50,000 more emergency department visits per year — which the organization said is equivalent to opening a new emergency department in the city.
The expansion will also allow the Providence Heart Institute to treat individuals with “much more complex cardiac conditions than patients in the past.”
The nonprofit said its fundraising campaign Tomorrow Starts Today has boosted the ongoing construction project, which should be complete by 2027.
“Not only are we building new spaces but we’re building new workflows to take care of patients in a different manner that allows us to provide private, quiet, safe care just for the time period that’s needed,” said Dr. Jeremy Lynns, an emergency medicine physician with Providence Portland. “And then, we can move the patient on to another location while they’re waiting for either test results or to go upstairs.”
Providence will allocate $92 million for Portland and St. Vincent’s medical centers, with another $85 million for the Heart Institute and its new intensive care unit.
According to the organization, about $144 million were covered by “generous donors.”
“Philanthropy has enabled Providence to care for Oregonians and patients in the Pacific Northwest for almost 170 years,” Chief Philanthropy Officer Laurie Kelley said in a statement. “Today’s health care challenges require urgent fixes that quite simply will not be possible without the generous support of our current and future donors.”