PEMBERTON TWP. – The Deborah Heart and Lung Center recently began expanding its facility by $ 108 million.
The project includes a three-story extension to the existing property and the renovation of three patient care units. In total, the institution will have 95 beds. Deborah’s catheterization laboratories, a new pharmacy clean room and new robotic technologies in electrophysiological laboratories will also be upgraded.
“We are excited to begin this new construction,” said Deborah President and CEO Joseph Ciricella. “Building into the future has always been at the heart of Deborah, and with our 100th anniversary this year, it’s appropriate that we’re starting a new bold chapter in the future of the hospital.”
Equality marks the first major capital expansion of the Browns Mills campus since the 1990s, when more than 120,000 square feet of space were added and renovated. In 2018, a medical office building with a total area of 60,000 square feet was added.
Deborah received $ 88 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture in the form of a low-interest loan for rural development. Another $ 10 million came from Greater Commercial Lending. Deborah got the rest through a fundraising campaign.
According to Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer Joseph Money, expansion plans began long before the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The pandemic has strengthened our vision of these needs,” he said, “and strengthened our determination to continue to provide the highest quality heart, lung and vascular care in the region.”
Ahmad Austin Jr. is a lifelong resident of South Jersey who tells health and cannabis stories for the Burlington County Times, Courier-Post and The Daily Journal. For advice on history, contact aaustin@gannett.com.
Please support local journalism with a digital subscription.
