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New Voorhees Hospital: The Vision

Virtua is creating a healthcare campus that will include a state-of-the-art digital hospital and an outpatient center that provides easy access to a wide variety of comprehensive services. The facilities will incorporate the latest technologies designed to ensure quality clinical services, patient safety and privacy, all within a healing environment.

Virtua's plan is to create a warm, welcoming and comfortable environment that promotes positive human interaction, provides personalized service and enhances healing through the use of light, space, and the application of advanced technology. It's the marriage of sophisticated, advanced medicine and a healing environment.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is the new campus located?
The campus is located in Voorhees on a 125-acre parcel of land on Route 73 that is framed by Dutchtown Road and Route 73. The southern point of the property is opposite BJ’s; the Northern point is adjacent to Lion’s Lake Park.

Virtua already has a hospital in Voorhees. Why has it decided to build a new hospital in the same general area?
The current Voorhees hospital has reached its capacity and does not have space to accommodate the growing needs of the communities it serves. Additionally, the current hospital was designed for 1973 technology and is not able to accommodate future technology or the implementation of a new and improved workflow plan. Our vision is to create a healthcare campus that will be able to meet healthcare needs for decades to come.

What is Virtua’s vision for the hospital and outpatient center?
Virtua’s plan is to create a warm, welcoming and comfortable environment that promotes positive human interaction, provides personalized service and enhances healing through the use of light, space, and the application of advanced technology. It’s the marriage of sophisticated, advanced medicine and a healing environment.

How was the new complex designed?
Virtua gathered a team of nationally renowned healthcare leaders and innovators who specialize in healthcare planning, technology and design. Together, they assessed how a new hospital and outpatient center would work best, how future technology would evolve or revolutionize patient care, and what characteristics would enhance healing and promote wellness. The team was determined to create a design that would accommodate changes in technology and advanced treatments still in development.

How do you create a design that will be relevant decades into the future?
Virtua consulted with leading healthcare futurists who looked at evolving technology trends and the resulting shift from invasive to minimally and non-invasive technologies and, subsequently the shift from inpatient to outpatient care. Based on their assessments, Virtua was able to plan appropriately for advancing and declining technologies and how they will affect patient care.

How have you determined which design aspects would enhance healing and promote wellness?
By participating in a study called the “Pebble Project,” Virtua Health has joined other leading healthcare providers and the Center for Health Design to study documented examples of how the healthcare environment improves outcomes. As a result of studies initiated by this group, Virtua’s new hospital will have private patient rooms with large windows overlooking scenic landscapes. Each patient room will have a distinct family zone welcoming the family into the care giving process. Access to natural light throughout the interior will support the healing process.

How will advanced technology benefit patient care?
Advanced technologies enable us to utilize less invasive treatments, thereby shortening recovery times so that patients are able to return to normal life much more quickly than in the past. For example, advanced laparoscopic procedures mean only two or three tiny incisions compared to major incisions required in traditional surgery. Minimally invasive procedures are now being applied to joint replacements, general surgery and a host of other surgical treatments. Trends to totally non-invasive treatments, such as the application of image-guided ultrasound for the shrinking of uterine fibroids, are already underway.

Will this technology only be available at the new hospital in Voorhees?
As a matter of fact, many of these technologies have already been adopted at Virtua’s existing hospitals. For example, the Marlton Hospital has sophisticated digital operating rooms with high definition imaging technology that enables pathologists and other specialists to consult on surgery from a distance while it is in progress. State-of-the-art digital cardiac categorization labs reside in our Mt. Holly and Marlton hospitals, and sophisticated ICU and NICU technologies are just a few examples of how Virtua’s hospitals are keeping pace with future technology development.

How will the environment enhance healing?
Our goal in the new Voorhees hospital is to create a healing environment that improves outcomes through the creative use of evidence-based design. We recognize that the healing environment is a vital part of therapeutic treatment where the setting contributes to health instead of adding to the burden of stress. Such designs incorporate the use of light and space, the provision of family space, the availability of healing gardens and walking paths, and the creation of meditation spaces.

How large will the hospital be?
There will be about 370 beds, each in a private room. The number and types of beds were based on anticipated community need determined by projections from national healthcare futurists.

What services will be provided in the hospital?
The new hospital will provide all of the services provided by our current hospital in Voorhees. These include:

• Women’s health services such as maternity and gynecology
• Pediatrics
• Oncology
• Cardiology
• Surgery
• Neuroscience
• Wellness
• Emergency Services

There will also be conference space to support health education programs for the community. Health and wellness retail shops will be located throughout the complex to enable patients and their families to easily access healthcare products to meet their needs. Spacious family waiting areas and cafe services will be available to visitors to the campus.

What services will be provided in the outpatient center?
A variety of outpatient services will be provided at a regional outpatient center adjacent to the hospital. These include:

Did you ever consider expanding the existing hospital and creating an outpatient center on the current Voorhees campus?
Unfortunately, the current Voorhees Hospital campus is landlocked and cannot effectively accommodate additional growth. The current infrastructure cannot efficiently adapt to new technology and process improvement. The amount of interruption created by rebuilding on site would have seriously hindered our ability to provide outstanding patient care.

Were other locations considered?
There were a limited number of potential sites of about 100 acres that were centrally located. After those were considered, the Route 73 site became the best option. Also, it was important to our patient base to keep the hospital as close as possible to its current location. We believe that the new location on Route 73 will provide even easier access.

What will happen to the existing hospital building and campus in Voorhees?
There are no specific plans at this time, but eventually, the property will be sold. We will work with Voorhees Township and developers to ensure that the land is used in a way that provides environmental and economic benefit to Voorhees.

Will any healthcare services remain on the current campus?
All of Virtua’s inpatient and ambulatory services will move to the new campus. However, Virtua’s William G. Rohrer Center for Health Fitness will remain at its current site as will some physicians who will stay in their current office space.

What will it cost to build the hospital?
The cost for construction and equipment is expected to be about $463 million.

Have you met with the neighbors of the new campus?
We’ve met with representatives of the surrounding neighborhoods on a number of occasions and will continue to keep them informed of our plans. We are also working closely with the Voorhees Township Planning Board and other municipal offices as we proceed through the planning and development process.

What are the plans for the wetlands on the campus?
The wetlands will be preserved in their natural state and utilized to enhance the beauty of the campus. We are also working with state environmental agencies to ensure the eco-balance of the wetlands.

Where will the access roads be located?
From the north, the main access point will be on Dutchtown Road. A second access point from the south will be on Route 73 across from the Cedar Hill Shopping Center, home to BJ’s Wholesale Club.

Will increased traffic be a problem?
A plan has been developed to ensure easy access for patients and to minimize traffic flow to the surrounding neighborhoods.

How will the traffic affect the neighborhoods of Sturbridge Lakes and those on Dutchtown Road?
With the help of a traffic engineer, we have developed a traffic plan that ensures that hospital traffic will not flow through those neighborhoods.

Where will the helicopter land?
When necessary, the helicopter will land at the northern end of campus, but only in the event a patient needs emergency transfer.

How close will buildings be from the nearest residential areas and how high will they be?
It is our objective to create a park-like campus environment that not only enhances healing but that will also be visually appealing from every external vantage point. We will meet the Voorhees Township requirement of a 200 foot setback from any residential area. Height restrictions for the campus are 100 feet with the exception of the core hospital.

Do you plan to replace or close any of your other hospitals?
We are only replacing our Voorhees hospital. There are also plans to expand Virtua’s hospital in Mt. Holly and to continue to make infrastructure improvements at our hospitals in Marlton and Berlin. These improvements include new cardiac catheterization labs, digital operating rooms with high definition imaging, and advanced information technology systems.

What companies are involved in the design and construction of the hospital and outpatient center?
Our project management firm is Hammes Company based in Milwaukee. Hammes has been ranked as the nation’s number one developer of healthcare facilities for eight consecutive years by Modern Healthcare. For more about Hammes, visit hammesco.com.

Our architectural firm is Hammel, Green & Abrahamson (HGA), a leading designer of healthcare facilities, with offices throughout the United States. For more about HGA, visit hga.com.

Our construction management firm is the Turner Construction Company. Turner is recognized as one of the leading builders of healthcare facilities in the country by Modern Healthcare and Engineering News Record. For more information, visit turnerconstruction.com.

The developer of the outpatient center is Frauenshuh, a healthcare real estate solutions firm based in Minneapolis. Frauenshuh has successfully developed healthcare complexes around the country. For more information, visit www.frauenshuhhealthcare.com.

How did you select these firms?
These and other leading firms were invited to submit proposals for the project, and these were the finalists based on experience, price and references from other clients. The design of a sophisticated digital hospital is a highly complex and specialized task that requires experts who are experienced in this field. Our project management and architectural firms are among the most renowned in their fields and are among the top 10 firms of their kind in the country.

Are any other services planned for the campus?
In addition to an outpatient center, it is our hope that there will eventually be a conference center, a wellness center and other services helpful to patients seeking healthcare services. We will look to developers to bring those services to the campus. How and when that might happen has not yet been determined.

Will there be more jobs created or will staffing be reduced?
Currently, more than 1,800 full- and part-time employees work at our Voorhees hospital. But with the increase in the number of beds over those in the current hospital and the growth of ambulatory services, Virtua plans to hire additional staff to provide services to an increased number of patients. It is projected that 2,800 people will be employed once the campus is completed, with the possibility of 4,000 employees when the campus is fully developed.

How will you find enough nurses since there is a nursing shortage in this country?
We strive to maintain an environment that attracts the best people to our organization. In fact, Virtua has been named the Number One Best Place to Work in the Delaware Valley three years in a row and named to the Hall of Fame by the Philadelphia Business Journal. We expect that given our environment, our commitment to quality and safety, and with a technologically advanced hospital, we will have no difficulty attracting highly qualified individuals.

When will the project be completed?
The new hospital is expected to open in the second quarter of 2011.

How are you financing the new hospital?
The new hospital will be financed through a combination of tax exempt bonds, existing investments and donations. A bond issue scheduled for 2009 is expected to raise from $450 to $500 million for the new hospital. The ambulatory centers will be funded by developers from whom Virtua will lease space to provide services.

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