Mullica Hill hospital campus heads for big growth spurt

HARRISON TWP. — Construction could start as soon as this August on a third wing to the Inspira Mullica Hill hospital, as well as a separate “overbuild” or upper floor to expand the maternity care department

The proposed wing is a five-story tower with 150,000 square feet, while the overbuild floor is another 18,000 square feet. This is the most extensive change of the hospital since it opened in November 2019.

The township's Joint Land Use Board unanimously approved the proposal at a public hearing Thursday night.

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Hospital representatives said the construction is necessary because demand has greatly exceeded the growth projections that shaped the original planning. And demand appears likely to grow and evolve, said Michelle Marshall, an Inspira vice president.

“And it’s actually starting to create significant challenges for us,” Marshall said. “So, we’re seeing multiple days a month where our beds are at capacity.

"When our in-patient beds are at capacity, there’s a domino effect and it impacts our emergency rooms," Marshall continued. "It can lead to the emergency room needing to go on divert, which can create access issues for our patients. Something that we don’t want to see as a norm.”

Much medical care once provided in hospitals now is provided at satellite and other facilities, Marshall said.

But that has brought its own problems, she added.

Marshall said hospital patients now tend to need more care and to stay longer. An aging population contributes to demand for cancer, cardiac, and neurological care.

Other factors driving construction are the growth in Inspira’s graduate medical education program and in maternity cases.

Inspira will add 86 beds eventually, with 44 coming in a first phase. More intensive care unit beds and more medical-surgical beds are included.

On completion, she said, the three wings will have 296 beds available. Plus, one floor in the new tower will not be completely fitted out but kept available for when more beds might be needed.

Inspira architect Kent Doss said the original facility plans made allowance for these additions. “So, there’ll be minimal disruption associated with it,” he said.

The campus at 700 Mullica Hill Road was created with two lots. One lot was for the hospital itself and a 40-acre lot was set aside for future development.

Marshall said this project represents maximum use of the hospital lot. “So, if we have additional expansion, we would most likely would be looking at that ‘back 40’ and coming in with something for that,” she said.

Project attorney Niall O’Brien said the towers are limited to five stories under the redevelopment plan Harrison created for the area in which the hospital was built.

Joe Smith is a N.E. Philly native transplanted to South Jersey 36 years ago, keeping an eye now on government in South Jersey. He is a former editor and current senior staff writer for The Daily Journal in Vineland, Courier-Post in Cherry Hill, and the Burlington County Times.

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This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Inspira adding 5-story tower, maternity floor to Mullica Hill hospital