June 21, 2011
GOV. MALLOY, REP. JOHNSON ANNOUNCE
$8.3 MILLION INVESTMENT AT WINDHAM HOSPITAL
WINDHAM – Governor Dannel P. Malloy, State Representative Susan Johnson, and other state legislators announced today that the State Bond Commission on Friday is expected to approve $8.354 million for the construction of a new medical center adjacent to Windham Hospital that will serve patients throughout eastern Connecticut as well as create an estimated 125 construction jobs.
The new 30,000 square-foot facility set on 2.5 acres will be home to various hospital services and dozens of primary care physicians, medical oncologists, physical therapists and rehabilitators, laboratory workers, orthopedic surgeons and general surgeons.
Groundbreaking on the project is expected to commence later this summer, with completion expected in the fall of 2012. The State Bond Commission is expected to approve the funding when it meets at 10:30 a.m. this Friday, June 24, in Room 1-E of the Legislative Office Building in Hartford.
“Eastern Connecticut’s economy benefits by supporting research and development projects like this. This project will create jobs in the short term and, more importantly, in the long term,” said Rep. Johnson. “I want to thank Governor Malloy for his commitment to this project and creating good jobs in the region.”
“Like Bioscience Connecticut in Farmington, the construction of new space for Windham Hospital will provide construction jobs in the near-term, and sustained economic growth in the longer-term as doctors and others move to the area to open their practice,” Gov. Malloy said. “This new building serves an economic purpose, as well as an important public health need, and I’m pleased to be with Senator Williams, Representative Johnson and others to support this.”
“This is another in a series of targeted investments in Connecticut’s future that immediately provides more than 100 construction jobs while setting the stage for future growth. It ties-in perfectly with Governor Malloy’s UConn medical center investment and my recent announcement of a technology park at the University of Connecticut in Storrs,” Sen. Williams said. “Our state population is aging. America is aging. Jobs in the medical industry are going to be a hot commodity in the years to come and Connecticut will be well-positioned to serve those needs.”
“Windham Hospital is very grateful to Governor Malloy and Senator Williams for their leadership in making an investment that is strategically important to the hospital,” said Dick Brvenik, President and CEO of Windham Hospital. “Most importantly, this project will benefit the patients we serve while advancing the hospital’s future success and our region’s overall economic vitality and well being. We want to recognize Don, in particular, who has been a true friend of Windham Hospital and our community for many years and who is so deeply committed to high-quality, affordable health care for all residents of eastern Connecticut and our entire state.”
“Residents throughout northeastern Connecticut depend upon the comprehensive medical services available at Windham Hospital so I’m delighted by the prospect for these expanded and enhanced services,” said state Sen. Edith Prague (D-Columbia). “I'm grateful to Governor Malloy and other members of the Bond Commission for what I expect will be their favorable consideration and approval of this project.”
The Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that between 2008 and 2018, the professional and business services sector and the health care and social assistance sector are anticipated to grow at more than twice the annual average for all industries and will add the most employment nationwide, with 4.2 million and 4.0 million additional jobs, respectively.
Windham Hospital, founded in 1933, is a non-profit, acute-care community hospital serving 19 eastern Connecticut towns. It has 131 beds, conducts nearly 4,000 surgeries annually, and its emergency department has been ranked among the top 1 percent of hospitals nationwide for patient satisfaction.