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MICHIGAN CITY, Ind. (AP) — Mishawaka-based health care organization Franciscan Alliance announced plans this week to bring a new hospital campus to Michigan City.
On Wednesday, the Catholic health care ministry said its planned Franciscan St. Anthony Health-Michigan City campus will sit on a 70-acre site near Interstate 94 and U.S. 421. The hospital's location is meant to provide easier access to patients from Porter and LaPorte counties and southwest Michigan, as well as leave room for potential expansion in the future, according to officials.
"We have discussed this project and the need for a new hospital building for more than a year," said Gene Diamond, interim president and CEO of Franciscan St. Anthony Health-Michigan City. "This is a project that is good for Michigan City and good for health care in Northwest Indiana."
The new campus will include 120 inpatient rooms, outpatient and emergency services, and a medical office building.
While the final cost is dependent on Franciscan's eventual plans to repurpose its existing hospital, which was built in 1924, the company expects to spend about $175 million on the new campus.
"Franciscan Alliance is actively looking at options to help determine the best use of the physical plant once construction of the new Franciscan St. Anthony Health is complete," spokesman Michael Shepherd said in an email. "Under consideration are plans to repurpose the newer portions of the Homer Street building for use as assisted living, long-term care or hospice."
Construction on the new building will begin in the spring and the project is slated for completion in 2017.
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