Bayhealth breaks ground on Milford campus

Bayhealth Medical Center broke ground on its new hospital campus in Milford.

Terry Murphy, hospital president and chief executive officer, said this week that the project will be "a nearly $300 million investment into the health our community here in Sussex County."

The $275 to $300 million health campus will be along Wilkins Road and Cedar Creek Road in Milford, just 3 miles from the existing Milford Memorial Hospital off of Del. 1.

Plans include a six-story hospital with all single-patient rooms, an easily accessible emergency department, first-floor cafeteria with outdoor seating and a 70,000-square-foot outpatient center for expanded diagnostic testing, plus other services. In all, the campus will stretch over 165 acres, nearly seven times the current downtown hospital's size.

It will also be able to accommodate the need for additional geriatric physicians and more specialty programs tailored to those Medicare-ready, as the population in Sussex County is expected to double by 2030.

The downtown Milford Memorial Hospital will stay open as a full-service hospital throughout the process. The hospital is licensed for 168 beds, but most rooms are doubles.

Though the number of licensed beds on the new campus will decrease to 128 single-patient rooms and 12 observational rooms, all rooms will have a private bathroom.

​Nemours Children’s Health System will provide specialized services for children and older adults in a separate building on the health campus, officials said.

"This is an exciting time in healthcare," said Dr. Roy Proujansky, chief executive of Delaware Valley Operations and executive vice President of Nemours at a press conference Tuesday.

The campus is projected to be open for patients by 2019.

Jason Minto contributed to this story. Jen Rini can be reached at (302)324-2386 or jrini@delawareonline.com. Follow @JenRini on Twitter.