Inside St. Anthony’s new $152M patient tower

St. Anthony’s Hospital has now opened the doors to its new $152 million patient tower, marking the completion of Phase 2 in its master plan. 

The expansion, which kicked off in 2020, adds 143,000 square feet to the main campus and is part of the overall expansion, renovation and relocation of hospital services. The new 90-bed tower, located at the west end of the campus, also significantly bumps up the bed count to 448 for the BayCare-owned hospital.

The concierge desk and area.  

“The patient tower will enable us to meet the growing health care needs of the community we serve for many years to come,” St. Anthony’s President Scott Smith said in a news release. “Through this project, we also have improved access to care and enhanced the patient experience by adding more private rooms.”

A patient room in the new tower. 

St. Anthony’s will relocate patient units and services into the new building on a rotating schedule in the upcoming weeks, then renovations will begin in those vacated spaces.  

Calming hues of blue and landscape art can be seen along the walls of the new tower. 

The tower includes expansion, renovation and relocation of the following hospital services:

• Non-invasive cardiology
• Pre-admission testing for surgical patients
• Three additional surgical suites
• Inpatient dialysis
• New electrical plant
• New classrooms
• Expanded loading dock
• Cafeteria and kitchen (moved from the ground floor up to the first floor for easier access by visitors)

The cafeteria and snack area.  

The completion of the tower also marks the return of the hospital’s main entrance off Seventh Avenue N., which includes a covered drop-off area for weatherproof convenience, according to a news release. 

Despite the disruptions the Covid-19 pandemic has caused in the health care industry, officials said the project remained on schedule. 

The nurses’ station. 

Although the project is complete, more construction is planned near the hospital’s emergency center during the remainder of the year as part of Phase 3. 

“We will revisit our emergency department. It has seen a lot of growth,” Smith previously said. “We’ll also look at some consolidation and expansion of our imaging services.”

The hospital’s Phase 1 of its master plan, which wrapped up in 2019, entailed the expansion of the hospital’s operating rooms and endoscopy department.