Ceremonial groundbreaking marks start of $180M project.

HYANNIS Ground has officially been broken for a new $180 million, six-story patient care tower at Cape Cod Hospital as the institution nears the centennial of its founding next year.

Approximately 200 town and state officials, benefactors, medical professionals and hospital employees gathered under a large tent on the hospital grounds Monday afternoon for the private ceremony.

Speakers included Michael Lauf, president and CEO officer of Cape Cod Healthcare; DeWitt Davenport, chairman of the Cape Cod Healthcare board of trustees; and Dr. Paul Houle, chief of staff, Cape Cod Hospital.

Marylou Sudders, secretary of the state Executive Office of Health and Human Services, was scheduled to speak but remained in Boston in preparation for an announcement from Gov. Charlie Bakers office Tuesday, according to Lauf.

The new tower, part of an initiative dubbed Vision 20/22 for the anticipated completion date of the facility, will offer enhanced services and technology for cancer, cardiovascular and intensive care, as well as medical surgery. As part of the project, Cape Cod Healthcare also has embarked upon development of a fully integrated single electronic medical records system for its patients.

The new tower will occupy 120,000 to 140,000 square feet between the existing Mugar Building and the Gleason House on Lewis Bay Road. The project would increase the number of beds in the Hyannis hospital from 259 to 299, including four new critical-care beds and 36 medical-surgical beds.

Actual groundbreaking will begin with the installation of underground utilities as construction workers start to tear down the Whitcomb Pavilion housing the Psychiatric Center of Cape Cod. The behavioral unit will be moved across the parking lot into Cape Cod Hospital, Lauf previously told the Times.

Construction of the new tower requires the approval of the Cape Cod Commission and is not expected to begin until next year, with completion slated for 2022, Lauf had said.

This is a moment that redefines our commitment to our community, Lauf said at the start of the ceremony.

State Rep. Sarah Peake, D-Provincetown, said the new tower and the services it will offer are important for the communities she serves, since at nearly 50 miles away it is the closest hospital to the Outer Cape.

Ive lived on the Cape for 30 years, and over those years Ive seen the quality and care at Cape Cod Hospital improve by leaps and bounds, Peake said. I challenge any Boston hospital to compete with us down here.

DeWitt echoed Peakes sentiment.

This catapults Cape Cod Healthcare into a new dimension of patient care, he said, thanking the benefactors in the audience. The quality of our lives is defined by the quality of health care facilities. When Cape Cod Healthcare does well, so does our entire community.

State Rep. William Crocker, R-Centerville, also participated in the ceremonial groundbreaking.

This is a huge step forward that really puts Cape Cod Healthcare on the map of regional health centers, he said.

Follow Geoff Spillane on Twitter: @GSpillaneCCT.

View original post here:

Cape Cod Healthcare vision takes shape - Cape Cod Times