Hospital in Lafayette gets expansion bonds

LAFAYETTE — About $60 million in expansion projects are planned for Lafayette General Medical Center, according to the Louisiana Public Facilities Authority Board.

At its Feb. 7 meeting, the board approved a bond program to fund up to $60 million for the hospital’s planned expansion, according to a news release.

The project will add 85,000 square feet and make improvements to operating rooms and the emergency department, said Roger Matke, the hospital’s senior vice president and chief financial officer.

“We will have 13 state-of-the-art operating suites and a larger, more-accommodating area for emergency room patients and their families when we complete this next phase of improvements to the LGMC campus,” Mattke said.

“It’s reflective of our ongoing commitment to meet the growing, ever-changing needs of the people of Acadiana.”

The hospital recently completed renovations that enlarged patient rooms and replaced the building’s red brick with glass.

Those projects were supported by an $85 million Louisiana Public Facilities Authority Board bond sale in 2010, according to the news release.

The planned expansion will create an estimated 140 construction jobs and 98 permanent positions with an annual payroll in excess of $4.6 million, the release says.

“We’ve been able to assist Lafayette General with their renovation project they completed last fall, which was a virtual makeover of the entire facility,” said Guy Campbell III, chairman of the LPFA Board of Trustees, in the release.

“This next endeavor will serve to further enhance the level of services LGMC can provide, while also improving employment opportunities, both of which are goals of LPFA financing programs.”