New Hospital Expected to be Finished in September
By: Eric Deabill
Updated: January 25, 2013
Bridgewater Township, Susquehanna County - Healthcare is about to take a major step forward in Susquehanna County as work continues to build a brand new hospital continues.
It was exactly one year ago Friday that officials broke ground for the new Endless Mountains Hospital near Montrose.
The new hospital will be a state-of-the-art facility with 25 beds.
The cost of the project is $48 million and represents the largest, most expensive expansion in healthcare services in the northern tier.
Just to get to this point has taken decades.
"For me, it's satisfaction to see it happen because we've been working at this since 1992, taking over what was a private facility, turning it into a non-profit and getting it on its feet, seeing it move along," Ray Wilmarth Jr. said. Wilmarth serves as chairman of the board of the Endless Mountain Health System.
When finished, the new hospital will have a six-bay emergency department with a cardiac/trauma room and helipad.
With the natural gas industry, officials say it is needed now more than ever.
"When you think about it, this is a multi-generational project," CEO Rex Catlin said. "You don't build a hospital for 20 or 30 years, you build a hospital with a vision for the future."
Many donors and businesses have helped the project get to this point, including Cabot Oil & Gas which helped to raise $4.4 million for the project.
A Cabot spokesman says that its only right to help because 92-percent of their employee base lives in Susquehanna County.
"This is critical for us because we live here, our employees are here so we want to make certain that the employees, spouses, the children have quality healthcare available to them," George Stark said.
When finished, the new hospital will replace an old hospital just a few miles away that is 55-years-old.
The new hospital is expected to be finished in September.
