Health care in Lincoln: Major expansions announced for Madonna, Eastmont

And 2019 was no exception, as Bryan in February announced a $47 million plan to enlarge and modernize surgical rooms at its East Campus hospital.

Other significant projects, however, are in the works for other locations in Lincoln. 

Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals in December announced one of the largest expansion projects in its 60-plus-year history — a $57 million project to add a three-story patient wing to its Lincoln campus at 5401 South St.

The 112,000-square-foot addition to the southwest side of the campus will include 59 modern patient rooms to replace outdated ones.

The project will be done in phases, with the new wing constructed first. Once it's complete, Madonna will remodel the space including the existing patient rooms for storage, support space for staff and a new therapy gym, among other things.

The project is expected to break ground this spring and be completed by early 2023.

Another large health care-related project is the $50 million expansion of Eastmont at 63rd and O streets.

The retirement community had up until a couple of years ago been planning a second location near 48th Street and Yankee Hill Road, but it decided instead to focus on expanding its existing location.

In June, it announced plans to add 43 apartment units and 12 memory care units. It also plans to add a 200-seat performing arts theater that includes a chapel; a wellness center with indoor pool, hot tub, aerobics studio and spa; a new lobby, library and top-floor lounge; and an outpatient physical therapy clinic and a physician clinic area where doctors can see their patients in-house.

Work on the expansion is expected to begin this summer and last two years.

The city's other hospital system, CHI St. Elizabeth, has concentrated on smaller projects in the past year, including the addition of a child-focused emergency department, called Pediatric Place, and a renovation of its burn unit.

Pediatric Place, which opened in November, provides both emergency and inpatient care for kids. It was built in existing space next to the hospital's emergency room and has eight private rooms, as well as its own waiting area.

Cost of the project was just less than $1 million.

The renovation of the burn unit involved new paint and flooring for all 16 rooms, as well as new therapy and rehab space. Highlighting the $1.8 million project are in-room murals of photographs by Lincoln conservation photographer Michael Forsberg.

Advanced Medical Imaging opened its new surgery center, which is attached to AMI’s Imaging Center at 7600 Pioneers Blvd. It provides the practice's radiologists with an additional 10,000-plus square feet of space and new state-of-the-art equipment.

Bryan Health underwent a big change that had nothing to do with facilities or physical expansion.

Kim Russel, who had led Lincoln's largest health system for more than a decade, retired at the end of 2019.

There should be little change at Bryan, however, as it chose to promote from within.

Russ Gronewold, who has been Bryan's chief financial officer since 2009, took over as president and CEO. John Woodrich, who was Bryan Medical Center’s president and chief operating officer, was named executive vice president of Bryan Health and president and CEO of Bryan Medical Center.

Both Bryan and St. Elizabeth also are working on off-campus expansions in southeast Lincoln that will likely take place sometime in the next year or two.

Bryan has submitted plans to the city for a 120,000-square-foot cancer center just south of 40th Street and Rokeby Road.

Bryan officials have said the plans are very preliminary at this point and have not announced any kind of timeline for development and construction.

St. Elizabeth has revealed that it plans to build a medical facility in the same general area, near the intersection of 40th Street and Yankee Hill Road, that will focus on outpatient care.

Officials have given no specifics of the plan, but Cliff Robertson, CEO of CHI Health, told the Journal Star in January that plans are on track for a groundbreaking sometime this summer.

Another health-related expansion is occurring at the main campus of Southeast Community College at 8800 O St.

The college is building a new $22.6 million health sciences building that is scheduled to open either late this year or early in 2021.

The 80,000-square-foot building will house the college's 16 health science programs, which enroll about 800 students a year.

Photos: New construction in Lincoln