St. Elizabeth Healthcare is expanding its Florence hospital campus to offer advanced, specialized care in Northern Kentucky and improve patient experience. Through a $65-85 million investment, nearly 125,000 square feet of new or renovated space and three years of development, the completed project will enable increased access to quality care for the community and reduce the need for residents to travel out-of-state for specialized services.

St. Elizabeth is making a variety of updates to the campus, including the relocation of inpatient orthopaedics from the Edgewood hospital to Florence; creation of an endoscopy center; renovation of 10 existing operating rooms and creation of five new operating rooms; greater accommodation of growth in bariatric surgery; renovation of over 24,000 square feet of inpatient space; a new atrium entrance and waiting area and a complete overhaul of the traffic flow, roadways and walkways to create a better experience with well-defined access points for patients. The project also includes the construction of new surface parking lots and the resurfacing of existing surface lots.

“As of 2021, Kentucky has the second highest percentage of adults with multiple chronic health conditions,” said Garren Colvin, President and Chief Executive Officer of St. Elizabeth Healthcare. “There is a clear need in our community, and we’re excited that through revitalizing our Florence campus, we will be able to help fill the healthcare gap by providing even more comprehensive and compassionate care that improves the health of the people we serve.” 

The Florence campus currently offers excellence in general, bariatric and orthopaedic surgery programs, including numerous minimally invasive and robotic options. 

The enhancements to the hospital are as follows:

“At St. Elizabeth, it’s our vision to lead the communities we serve to become the healthiest in America, and we’re grateful for the opportunity to be even better equipped to offer world-class care in the Florence community,” said Bruno Giacomuzzi, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of St. Elizabeth Florence and Grant. “With the improved facility, patients and their loved ones will be able to effortlessly park and find the entrance for the service they need, receive highly specialized care and recover in a state-of-the-art facility—all without traveling outside their community.”

These updates to the Florence hospital impact the system as a whole. By removing duplication of efforts across its various locations, the system is able to specialize, focus and use healthcare resources more wisely and in the best interest of the patient. Although the service offerings vary by location, the distance between each St. Elizabeth hospital is short enough that patients can receive holistic care locally, without needing to travel beyond the region.

“As clinicians, our priorities are patient care, outcomes and experience. With greater specialization, capacity, resources and even something as overlooked as more parking and walkways, we’re able to better serve our community,” said Vera Hall, Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Executive at St. Elizabeth.

St. Elizabeth is working with Messer Construction Co. as the construction manager for the Florence campus expansion and upgrades. Champlin Architecture is leading the design, CT Consultants Inc. is the providing civil engineer, THP Limited Inc. is the structural engineer and KLH Engineers is the mechanical and electrical engineer. Construction began in 2021 and all updates are scheduled to be complete by fall 2023.