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Grant Medical Center plans to break ground on expanded campus in September

President Michael Lawson said the hospital's expansion of its ER department is related to the increase in violence.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — OhioHealth plans to break ground in September to start the expansion of its only downtown Columbus hospital.

Back in February, the organization announced that Grant Medical Center, located on East Town Street and South Grant Avenue, will undergo a major transformation.

The project includes adding a seven-story building along Town Street that will house a new trauma center, emergency department and critical care pavilion. The pavilion will add 160 private beds and will include underground parking for emergency patients.

An ambulatory facility will be built to provide access to expanded primary care services on the corner of Grant Avenue and State Street. The building will have two floors of outpatient care and a five-story parking garage.

The expansion will cost around $400 million, according to OhioHealth. The investment will preserve more than 3,000 current downtown jobs and create additional jobs now and during the course of the project.

“We know the downtown population is growing and the housing is growing. It has more than doubled in the last five to 10 years,” said Grant Medical Center President Michael Lawson.

Grant Medical Center, which has been in downtown Columbus for 122 years, is the busiest Level I trauma center in Ohio, according to OhioHealth. Doctors treat about 400 to 500 shooting victims every year.

The percentage of people with gunshots treated at Grant has increased over the years. In 2019, 4% of ER visits involved gunshots compared to 6% today, according to the hospital.

Lawson said the hospital's expansion of its ER department is related to the increase in violence. He added that the construction will allow the hospital to expand from three trauma bays to five in its emergency department.

“It will impact our trauma program in terms of volumes if [the shootings] continue at this rate and we will have additional capacity to treat those patients,” Lawson said.

Below is a list of facts and figures associated with the expansion:

  • Grant will increase by about 310,000 square feet
  • Ambulatory facility and parking garage: approximately 40,000 square feet of medical office building space and a five-story parking garage
  • Emergency department/critical care pavilion: 270,000 square feet with underground parking
  • Increases trauma bays from three to five
  • Improves and expands parking options for patients and visitors
  • Increases main campus total beds from about 406 to over 450
  • Anticipated to create hundreds of new jobs over the next decade
  • Construction is expected to be completed in mid-2028.
  • The project will be designed by Cannon Design in conjunction with Design Group and Moody Nolan. The building team is a partnership between Messer Construction and Daimler and will also include a variety of diverse and small businesses.

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