Allina Health System expects to spend about $103 million over the next several years on infrastructure projects as part of the recently announced merger between Mercy and Unity hospitals in Anoka County.
Allina plans $103 million in spending at post-merger Mercy
Renovations will be done for Mercy-Unity merger.
May 18, 2016 at 2:34AM
Earlier this month, Allina announced that Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids would merge under one license with Unity Hospital in Fridley. Neither hospital is closing, but Unity will change its name to Mercy Hospital-Unity Campus as Allina tries to reduce duplicate services at the medical centers.
In 2015, Allina moved maternity services from Unity to a new consolidated obstetrics unit at Mercy, which is the larger of the two medical centers. Next year, the health system will spend about $17.5 million to consolidate mental health care at Unity.
In a financial statement this month, Allina said it would spend about $103 million on reconfiguring a variety of services provided across the two hospital campuses.
"This includes work on the mental health unit at Unity, some space configurations at Mercy … and some renovations that had long been planned at both campuses," said David Kanihan, an Allina spokesman, in a statement. "We don't have all the plans solidified yet, but we want to be ready to respond to where the market and this new strategy takes us."
At Mercy, Allina expects to work on renovations for both a parking ramp and an intensive care unit, Kanihan said, plus expansions for its emergency department and operating rooms.
At Unity, Allina expects to renovate its emergency room and inpatient mental health unit, and to relocate and expand a mental health clinic.
Analysts say other hospital systems around the country are experimenting with similar changes to boost efficiency. Kanihan said the merger will help with making decisions about capital spending at the hospital campuses, since Allina won't need to duplicate investments.
Allina is one of Minnesota's largest health systems, with 12 hospitals and 64 clinics. In 2014, Mercy Hospital posted $60.8 million in net income on $408.9 million in revenue, while Unity posted a loss of $1.9 million on about $188 million in revenue, according to the Minnesota Department of Health.
Mercy currently employs about 2,200 people, while about 1,300 people work at Unity.
Christopher Snowbeck • 612-673-4744
Twitter: @chrissnowbeck
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