April 18, 2014

To meet increasing demands for health care services in Butler County, Bethesda Butler will undergo a 51,000-square-foot expansion, adding a two-story inpatient building and expanding its operating room.

The hospital, which currently has 10 beds, will have 48 private medical/surgical beds, including six new ICU beds upon completion of the expansion.

Groundbreaking will begin in the next few weeks, and the new inpatient unit is expected to open December 2015. Once the project is fully completed, the hospital will add about 45 to 50 jobs, the majority of which will be in nursing.

"Excellent medical care is vital to the growth of a community and we are excited about the opportunity to expand Bethesda Butler Hospital again," said John Prout, TriHealth president and CEO.

"We look forward to meeting Butler County's growing need for high quality care."

Bethesda Butler opened a new emergency department in February 2013. This new expansion will help accommodate projected admissions through the 17-bay ED and a projected increase in inpatient surgical volumes.

In addition, the new addition will allow the hospital to higher acuity inpatient surgical cases.

Hamilton Mayor Pat Moeller welcomes the expansion.

"I am pleased that Bethesda Butler Hospital continues to expand with so many additional services to help meet the increasing health care needs in our community," he said.

Project Breakdown

The 51,000 expansion includes:

• A 45,000-square-foot, two-story inpatient building
• A 3,000-square-foot addition to the south side of the surgery/inpatient building to accommodate an operating room expansion
• A 3,300-square-foot, one-story infill between the existing building and the two-story addition