The $125 million project kicked off in 2021 after Worcester-based UMass Memorial Health purchased the property, which formerly served as the Beaumont Rehabilitation and Skilled Nursing Facility, from Salmon Health and Retirement.
“The beauty of the building was that it was adjacent to our university campus,” Justin Precourt, DNP, RN, president of UMass Memorial Medical Center, told Becker’s. “It looked like a great opportunity for us to expand our inpatient beds.”
UMass Memorial Medical Center is located in Worcester County, which Mr. Precourt said is the most under-bedded county in Massachusetts but one of the few counties that has seen population growth, leading to significant demand for both inpatient services and beds.
Four years after purchasing the building, the hospital is now operational and filled each day.
“We built these beds to be for hospital medicine patients. These are patients with COPD exacerbation, heart failure, community-acquired pneumonia, various different infections,” Mr. Precourt said.
Once those patients were moved into the new pavilion, the vacated beds at other UMass Memorial locations provided additional capacity to support trauma, cardiology and neurology programs, allowing for greater access to beds on its campus.
The North Pavilion also integrates digital health tools to enhance bedside care, including cameras for electronic ICU monitoring and teleconsultations. Patients can access their medical charts, entertainment, and hospital stay information on flatscreen TVs, while digital whiteboards display real-time care team data and lab schedules. Many beds also support voice-activated automation for improved patient experience.
Reflecting on the facility’s impact, Mr. Precourt emphasized how his DNP background helped shape an environment that meets both patient and caregiver needs.
“By all accounts, what we’ve heard from patients through the first month has been nothing short of exceptional,” he said. “From the caregivers, this has really set a new beacon for us of what we need to strive to aim for at all of our facilities.”
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