A massive new hospital planned on the Eastern Shore is now one step closer to reality after clearing a major regulatory hurdle.
The University of Maryland Shore Regional Health’s rate application request for a new medical center in Easton was approved by the Maryland Health Services Cost Review Commission on Wednesday. The approval is the final step for the University of Maryland Medical System, the hospital’s owner, as it prepares to start site preparation work at 10000 Longwoods Road later this month.
The project is intended to replace the aging University of Maryland Shore Medical Center at Easton, which was built between 1955 and 1975. The new 407,872-square-foot facility will be located on an undeveloped 230-acre plot around three miles from the existing downtown Easton campus.
The cost of the University of Maryland Shore Regional Medical Center has exploded over the last several years. When the Easton hospital began seeking state approval in 2018, the estimated project cost was $350 million. UMMS now estimates that the hospital will cost around $540 million to build, a 54% increase. Many other large infrastructure projects have faced similar multi-million dollar overruns from their original budgets in recent years amid high interest rates and supply chain struggles.
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Matt Hooke over at Washington Business Journal
