Pen Bay Medical Center, on Route 1 in Rockport, will mark the completion of Phase I of its Emergency Department expansion project by opening its new addition and ED entrance on Wednesday, Oct. 5. The temporary entrance set up when construction began last year will close at that time.

The work is part of a three-phase 24-month construction project that will nearly double the size of the PBMC Emergency Department when completed in 2024. When the new addition opens in October, it will house a larger waiting room, multiple registration windows and eight new patient rooms. 

Once the new addition opens to patients, the current Emergency Department space will shut down for renovations.

The addition is the first of three phases of updates to the Emergency Department and is necessary for several reasons, including advancements in emergency medicine that require more equipment and time but also lead to better outcomes for patients, especially those suffering a stroke or heart attack. There has also been a significant increase in the severity of cases requiring emergency care in recent years, as well as an increase in behavioral health cases.

The Emergency Department upgrade is part of the larger Campaign for Coastal Health, a $21 million capital campaign that also funded the construction of the new Beebe Health Center on the PBMC campus. The health center, which brings together under one roof most of the hospital’s primary care practices, opened in December of 2020.

The campaign, which is ongoing, will contribute $4.5 million to the upgrade of the Emergency Department. MaineHealth has contributed more than $3.5 million to the project.

A number of local businesses have supported the campaign with major donations, including Allen Agency, Camden National Bank, Horch Roofing and Viking Lumber. Another major donor, O’Hara Corporation, designated its donation specifically for the Emergency Department.

Other corporate donors included CedarWorks and The First National Bank.

Early foundation contributors include the Sunshine Lady Foundation, the Libra Foundation, the Davis Family Foundation, the William Randolph Hearst Foundation and the Fisher Foundation.

In addition, PBMC care team members across the organization donated more than $500,000 to the capital campaign that raised money for the project.

SEPT. 21 — The opening of the new Emergency Department entrance and addition at PenBay Medical Center in Rockport will be in October to give the construction team time to address several unanticipated last minute challenges. A new opening date will be announced once this work is complete.

The work is part of a three-phase 24-month construction project that is to nearly double the size of the PBMC Emergency Department when completed in 2024. When the new addition opens in October, it will house a larger waiting room, multiple registration windows and eight new patient rooms. 

Once the new addition opens to patients, the current Emergency Department space will shut down for renovations.

The Emergency Department upgrade is part of the larger Campaign for Coastal Health, a $21 million capital campaign that also funded the construction of the new Health Center on the PBMC campus. The Health Center, which brings together under one roof most of the hospital’s primary care practices, opened in December of 2020.

The campaign, which is ongoing, will contribute $4 million to the upgrade of the Emergency Department. MaineHealth will invest an additional $3.75 million.

A number of local businesses have supported the campaign with major donations, including Allen Agency, Camden National Bank, Horch Roofing, and Viking Lumber. Another major donor, O’Hara Corporation, designated its donation specifically for the Emergency Department.

Other local donors included CedarWorks and The First National Bank.

Early foundation contributors include the Sunshine Lady Foundation, the Libra Foundation, the Davis Family Foundation, the William Randolph Hearst Foundation and the Fisher Foundation.

In addition, PBMC care team members across the organization donated more than $500,000 to the capital campaign that raised money for the project.