Many hospital expansion plans were pushed back due to economic challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, but work has resumed on several projects centering on spine care.
Three spine and orthopedic towers costing at least $60 million that recently opened or are in the works:
1. In January, Aventura (Fla.) Hospital and Medical Center opened a $60 million tower that houses its Orthopedic & Spine Institute. The three-story, 90,000-square-foot facility added 60 beds to the hospital, which has plans to expand the tower by seven stories.
2. A $250 million spine and orthopedic tower is projected to open at Huntsville (Ala.) Hospital this summer. Construction began last January, but was temporarily halted during the pandemic. The seven-story tower will have 24 operating rooms and house the hospital's joint replacement program.
3. Covenant Medical Center in Lubbock, Texas, temporarily suspended construction of its $120 million, six-story spine and orthopedic tower last summer. The 220,000-square-foot inpatient facility will be used to treat spine, neurosurgical and complex orthopedic trauma patients. It is expected to open by the first quarter of 2022.