Elected officials and healthcare leaders broke ground on the University of Maryland Shore Regional Medical Center in Easton, MD. The $540 million facility, set to open in 2028, will provide advanced medical care across the Maryland Eastern Shore, serving over 170,000 residents in five counties.
Rendering courtesy of University of Maryland Shore Regional Medical Center
The new Shore Regional Medical Center will provide greater access to hospital services for more than 170,000 residents of Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s and Talbot counties on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.
In a milestone that has been decades in the making, elected officials, medical, civic, business leaders and community stakeholders gathered Oct.22 in Easton, Md., to break ground for the construction of the University of Maryland Shore Regional Medical Center.
The new complex, part of University of Maryland Shore Regional Health (UM SRH), is anticipated to open in 2028. UM SRH is a member organization of the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS).
The event was staged at the Talbot County Community Center adjacent to the construction site, and hosted by UMMS President and CEO Mohan Suntha, and Ken Kozel, president and CEO of UM SRH. Among the other speakers were Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D), U.S. Congressman Andy Harris, R-1st District, Maryland State Sen. Johnny Mautz, R-37th District, and his colleague, state Sen. Steve Hershey, R-36th District.
"We are all here because we each share a simple but powerful belief: Everyone deserves access to health care. This isn't about politics, this isn't about ideology, this is about basic, foundational principles of a functioning society," said Moore. "We will not stop until that future is a reality for the 456,000 Marylanders who call the [Eastern] Shore home – and the millions more who live all across our state. Not just because we ‘say so,' but because we are proving what it means to make it so. Together, we will leave no one behind."
Kozel spoke to the expansion of healthcare access across the five counties served by UM Shore Regional Health over more than 10 years, which have included the creation of medical office buildings providing outpatient care services in each county, as well as freestanding emergency care facilities in Queenstown and Cambridge, an expanded and renovated emergency department in Chestertown, which complements the state's designation of UM Shore Medical Center at Chestertown as Maryland's first rural hospital.
With the establishment of UM Shore Medical Group, which now employs more than 130 physician and advanced practice providers in 22 primary and specialty care offices in locations throughout the region, improved access for all remains a core part of the hospital system's vision.
"Expanding access to healthcare across our 2,000-square-mile region — with the goal of providing the ‘right care at the right place at the right time' — has required us to think of innovative ways for transforming rural health care," Kozel continued. "Our medical pavilions, freestanding emergency care centers and programs designed to achieve equity in healthcare access for our diverse communities have enabled us to dramatically expand access to preventive care and chronic disease management outside the walls of the hospital."
New Hospital Complex Likely to Cost $540 Million
The UM Shore Regional Medical Center will be located at 10000 Longwoods Rd. in Easton on a 230-acre site.
The hospital's six-story main tower will encompass 325,294 sq. ft. of acute care, according to a news release from UMMS. Its adjacent medical office and outpatient services building adds another 60,000 sq. ft. to the complex.
It is licensed to provide 122 private-room beds and will include 27 treatment bays within the emergency department, 25 adult observation/short stay rooms and seven operating rooms. In addition, the medical center will feature a helipad.
Among its core programs and specialty centers will be facilities for acute rehabilitation, behavioral health, childbirth, women's services, cardiac intervention, critical care medicine, neurosciences, orthopedics and vascular services.
The total estimated cost of building the Easton facility is $540 million, according to UMMS.
Covalus, a medical consulting firm in Dallas, Texas will serve as the hospital's project manager, while the team of Whiting-Turner and Mahogany Inc., both headquartered in Baltimore, will handle the construction.
After its projected opening in the summer of 2028, UMMS noted that the new complex will replace the current University of Maryland Shore Medical Center on Easton's South Washington Street.
"Today has been a long time coming and is truly a historic day for the future of health care on the Eastern Shore," Suntha said at the groundbreaking ceremony. "Our system and UM Shore Regional Health together have pioneered innovative solutions for the challenges of rural healthcare, and we look forward to the new Regional Medical Center opening to continue meeting the needs of residents across the region.
"Healthcare has come a long way since Emergency Hospital opened its doors in 1907 in Easton, and 117 years later we are committed to giving residents of the region served by Shore Regional Health the state-of-the-art hospital that they deserve," he continued. "We are also grateful to Gov. Moore for joining us today, and to the state of Maryland for their financial commitment to making sure this new hospital will finally be built."
The new Shore Regional Medical Center will provide greater access to hospital services for more than 170,000 residents of Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne's and Talbot counties on Maryland's Eastern Shore.
UM SRH consists of approximately 2,000 team members, including more than 600 health care providers on the medical staff.
In partnership with UMMS, it will serve as a vital asset to recruit and retain physicians, advanced practice professionals, and the clinical and support staff needed to provide high quality, clinically advanced medical care to the region.
Today's top stories
