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IU Health Expansion

Source: IU Health

INDIANAPOLIS–IU Health is developing a new hospital in downtown Indianapolis valued at $2.3 billion. It is supposed to open in late 2027.

The new hospital is supposed to expand the medical campus and “meet the needs of future patient care and attract top medical and research professionals.” Leaders say it will also save $50 million per year in operating costs by consolidating two large acute-care hospitals and eliminating the duplication of many services.

It is supposed to be the centerpiece of  a 44-acre expanded campus and will contain more than two million square feet of space. Patients will be able to receive a wide range of care including surgery, medical imaging, clinical research trials, and care for a variety of medical conditions. The hospital will support three clinical institutes–cancer, cardiovascular, and neuroscience.

Ryan Nagy, president of the IU Health Medical Center, says this is the largest investment yet by IU Health toward its mission to make Indiana one of the healthiest states.

“I envision sitting on a park bench watching this thing come to life. It’s a real campus now. It’s where the School of Medicine, IU Health, we’re all together training the next generation of physicians, nurses, tech, therapists, etc. We’re pushing the curve in healthcare and really delivering value to the state of Indiana,” said Nagy.

Nagy says the faculty and nursing staff had a lot of input in the design of the hospital, which he says is a “big morale boost.” In an update on Wednesday, Nagy said that they are at the point of the construction where the major structure is going up into the air.

When it’s done, it will have 50 operating rooms and 380 outpatient exam rooms. It will be able to accommodate 864 beds, and all rooms will be private. IU Health says this count is comparable to the current licensed beds at Methodist and University hospitals.

“Fundamentally this building needs to operate in a way which is efficient, flexible, adaptive, and which drives innovation. The building will convey a message of ‘this is a really special place that was built for me as a patient and I’m going to get excellent care here,” said Nick Wojiechowski, Vice President of Project Planning and Operations at IU Health .

The hospital’s campus will have four bus route stops, nine bike parking locations and spaces for electrical vehicle charging. The expansion of the IU Health Methodist Hospital campus extends from 16th to 12th streets and from Capitol Avenue west to I-65. The main entrance will be located off Senate Avenue, which is just south of 16th Street.

You can see a full video of the update here.