Cheverly, MD (September 20, 2018) – Today, University of Maryland Laurel Regional Hospital received regulatory approval from the Maryland Health Care Commission to move forward with plans to transform and enhance the health care services offered in Laurel. The filing, called a Request for Certificate of Need Exemption, was submitted in April and laid out plans to transform the aging hospital into a new state-of-the-art health care destination offering services including but not limited to 24/7 emergency care, short-stay overnight care, outpatient surgery and enhanced outpatient behavioral health programs and services. The current building will house approved services until the construction of the new facility is complete.
The new facility, UM Laurel Medical Center, will represent a new model of care representing significant investment in more services to keep residents healthy in their community and avoid unnecessary inpatient admissions and emergency room visits. This model also allows for expansion of ongoing services including outpatient surgery and intensive outpatient treatment for patients with behavioral health needs, with a goal of reducing the need for hospitalizations.
Plans for the new facility represent recommendations from a multi-phase planning process that began in July 2016 when the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS), Laurel Mayor Craig Moe and other community leaders launched a Strategic Planning Work Group (SPWG) to address the future of health care in Laurel.
UM Laurel Regional Hospital’s current inpatient medical/surgical units and inpatient behavioral health services will soon be relocated to UM Prince George’s Hospital Center in Cheverly. Regulators had already approved the move of the existing chronic care and inpatient rehabilitation units at UM Laurel Regional Hospital to UM Prince George’s Hospital Center. The relocation of these units is projected to occur later this year.
Construction of the new UM Laurel Medical Center is expected to begin in winter 2019 and be completed in spring 2021. Significant private sector investment is also anticipated as the surrounding medical campus is developed.
For more information on the project and renderings of the new facility, visit https://umcapitalregion.org/um-capital-laurel.