Plymouth's WestHealth Breaks Ground

Allina Hospitals and Clinics officials and community leaders broke ground April 12 on the new emergency department at off Highway 55 and Interstate 494 in Plymouth.

The 24-hour, full-service emergency department will be staffed by physicians from Abbott Northwestern Hospital.

“Our goal is to provide the right care in the right setting. With the completion of this emergency department, WestHealth will be the outpatient health care campus of the future, with the ability to treat patients closer to home, even for more serious issues,” said Ben Bache-Wiig, MD, president of Abbott Northwestern Hospital.

The emergency department is part of a planned multi-year development that was launched in the mid-90s. Future service expansion will also include a transitional care unit to serve patients in the community in lower cost settings than a traditional hospital.

The emergency department will be an 18,000 square-foot building adjacent and attached to the 180,000 square-foot campus. Allina officials expect to complete the project before the end of 2012.

“We are pleased that Allina is investing in our community.The addition of an emergency department will add yet another dimension to the array of quality health care services that WestHealth already offers in Plymouth and the west metro area,” said Plymouth Mayor Kelli Slavik.

WestHealth offers primary care, pharmacy, outpatient surgery, imaging, specialty care and urgent care and serves more than 1,000 patients each day. WestHealth is part of Allina Hospitals and Clinics, a not-for-profit system of hospitals, clinics and other health care services, providing care throughout Minnesota and western Wisconsin.

(Information provided by WestHealth press release.) Allina and the latest health information can be found online at allina.com.