Milford Regional Medical Center Breaks Ground on New Building Project

Pictured (l - r) Senator Richard T. Moore; Vascen Bogigian, MRMC board trustee & building  committee chair; Edward J. Kelly, MRMC president; Francis M. Saba, MRMC CEO;  John Burns, MRMC board trustee chair; Tina Robakiewicz, MD, MRMC medical staff  president; and Representative John V. Fernandes.

Milford Regional Medical Center launched a new era of healthcare with a groundbreaking ceremony for a historic major capital initiative that will result in a new emergency department, intensive care unit and private patient rooms.

The new two story structure, to be built by local developer Consigli Construction, will more than double the size of the current ED from 30 to 52 private treatment rooms, increase the number of patient rooms in the ICU from 10 to 16 expanding their size to accommodate the latest technology, and add a 24-bed private room unit with the intent to convert all hospital patient rooms to private.

“Today’s groundbreaking ceremony is a momentous occasion for all of us at the Medical Center and everyone in our community,” says Francis M. Saba, CEO of Milford Regional. “This is a transformational project that will result in a new, more modern, more efficient, more comfortable, and better healthcare facility. Ultimately, our goal is always the best possible care close to home, and today we take another enormous step in that enduring mission.”

The $54 million project is being funded through a combination of reserves from hospital operations, traditional financing, and the most successful capital campaign in the organization’s history. Excellence…The Campaign for Milford Regional Medical Center was launched in November of last year and has already raised nearly $17 million toward its goal of $25 million. The flourishing fund raising effort features several seven-figure gifts, including one of $5 million from Board member Kevin Meehan and his family. Mr. Meehan’s gift is the largest in the history of the Medical Center.

“We are extraordinarily proud and grateful today,” says John Burns, chairman of Milford Regional’s Board of Trustees, as well as chairman of Excellence. “There are so many people to thank who have had an impact on our progress… all who worked tirelessly on the project plans, and all who have contributed time, effort, and resources toward our capital campaign. That includes donors from those who have been generous at the highest levels to our employees. It is uplifting to participate in a project that has so galvanized everyone in the community.”

With a projected completion in the fall of 2015, the new emergency department will accommodate 70,000 visits annually and be designed for today’s volume challenges and tomorrow’s advances in technology and treatment methodologies. The new intensive care unit will address the need for space with an increase in beds, and also derive added benefit from its juxtaposition to the emergency department. Modern design and the additional space will offer enhanced privacy for patients and families include family sleeping space, private bathrooms, televisions and kitchen accommodations. The private patient unit suggests the importance of patient privacy and safety for those who seek care at Milford Regional. The project includes reconfiguring the Medical Center so that eventually every room will be private.

“Healthcare has changed drastically in a very short period of time, and it is imperative for us, as a community hospital, to be inventive and imaginative, to prepare for the future and plan aggressively, and to exercise forethought,” says Saba. “This initiative is the product of smart and caring people who are first and foremost community and patient-minded in their approach to the future of our Medical Center. We are forever in their debt.”