COLUMBIA, Md.—Howard County General Hospital completed a new 50,000-square-foot two-story addition facing Little Patuxent Parkway. The hospital’s emergency room entrance for both pediatric and adult patients will move to the new addition, at the Little Patuxent Parkway entrance, starting Jan. 28, and the observation and psychiatric units will move to the new space Jan. 29. The improved spaces will increase hospital efficiency and enhance the patient experience.

See a video overview of the new addition.

“We’re excited to open our new addition, which allows us to transition observation and psychiatric care from one of the oldest and most used buildings on campus into a brand new building that provides a healing environment and is equipped with the latest technology and furnishings. It will help us meet the needs of our rapidly growing and aging community,” said Steve Snelgrove, president of Howard County General Hospital.

Improvements to the hospital include:

• New emergency room entrance facing Little Patuxent Parkway—with new waiting and additional triage evaluation areas designed to improve patient comfort and care—serves as an entrance point for both adult and pediatric patients.
• New inpatient psychiatric unit, with the capacity to treat 20 patients, is twice the size of the existing unit. The unit was meticulously designed with patient safety as the number one priority as well as amenities that create a greatly improved healing environment.
• New 23-bed observation unit adjacent to the emergency room will provide patients and families with greatly expanded space and accommodations.

Howard County General Hospital completed the addition and renovations to meet the demand of Howard County’s growing population, especially residents 55 and older, who frequently require a higher level of care. The hospital’s observation unit, for patients who need monitoring and treatment but not full admittance to the hospital, achieves nearly full occupancy daily.

The new addition and renovations cost approximately $48 million funded by a combination of public and private sources, including the “Building Today for a Healthier Tomorrow” capital campaign. For more information, visit hcghoftomorrow.org.

About Howard County General Hospital
Howard County General Hospital: A Member of Johns Hopkins Medicine is a not-for-profit health care provider with 225 licensed beds located in Columbia, Maryland. A comprehensive, acute-care medical center, Howard County General offers a full range of services, from neonatal care and oncology to outpatient treatment and critical care.

The hospital has a professional staff of more than 1,000 physicians and allied health professionals, representing more than 100 specialties and subspecialties; a workforce of more than 1,800 individuals and over 370 volunteers.