UK HealthCare plans $2 billion expansion in the coming years. See what’s included.

The University of Kentucky is planning a massive expansion of its health care system in the coming years, university officials announced Thursday.

The expansion includes adding an additional 300 hospital beds to the Chandler Hospital campus with a new hospital tower and four new outpatient locations in and around Lexington. The university is also focusing on growing its health education programs and expanding its health care workforce.

In total, university officials estimated the expansions, which are part of UK HealthCare’s refreshed strategic plan, could total $2.4 billion.

The plan was presented at the university health care committee retreat Thursday, and and was approved by the full board on Friday. More details and specifics about the expansion will come as the university enters into the design phase, which was part of the board approval.

“We will remain focused on the mission we established more than 15 years ago — that no matter who you are or where you live in Kentucky, there is a place close to home to meet your advanced care needs. ... But that also means recognizing and responding to the growing primary and ambulatory care needs of our people and those who don’t have access to the care we provide,” said Britt Brockman, chair of the UK board’s health care committee.

This plan is the next step for UK HealthCare achieving a goal it set years ago: that no Kentuckian has to leave the state for the health care they need, said Eric Monday, acting co-executive vice president for health affairs.

“What this plan allows us to do is to continue to achieve that and achieve it at a higher level,” Monday said.

The expansion is made possible by UK HealthCare’s revenue it has made in recent years. For fiscal year 2023, UK HealthCare has nearly $352 million excess revenues over expenses, with an operating margin of 11%, meaning the system is in good financial standing and able to focus on expansion.

New outpatient treatment options

UK plans to open four new outpatient locations across the Lexington area, in Hamburg, Madison County, Frankfort and one under-served area of Lexington. Opening those locations, and others in progress, will include an additional 29 primary care providers within UK HealthCare by the end of fiscal year 2025.

An analysis of data from UK hospitals done by Vizient found that certain zip codes in Lexington have a longer live expectancy of 11 years. Those living in the 40513 zip code, which includes Beaumont and Palomar, have the longest life expectancy of nearly 84 years old.

But for people who live in 40505, which includes Bryan Station, the life expectancy is just under 73 years old. Zip code 40508, encompassing most of the downtown area, has a similar life expectancy of slightly below 73 years.

The life expectancy in the United States is 76.1 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The life expectancy in Kentucky is 73.5 years, according to the CDC.

The goal for UK HealthCare is to take that data and open an outpatient location in one of the zip codes that needs it most, said Robert DiPaola, acting co-executive vice president for health affairs. Monday said the goal is to open those clinics “as soon as possible,” with some of the locations opening next year if major construction is not needed.

Last year, the board approved plans for the new medical campus in Hamburg, which includes a regional hospital, medical office building and other clinical facilities. Thursday’s approval means UK can move forward with the design phase of the Hamburg medical office.

Expansion of hospitals

Chandler Hospital and Kentucky Children’s Hospital need to expand in several areas, Monday said, including the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU), acute care, behavioral health, and emergency and urgent care. One issue the health care system is facing is being able to accept transfers to UK because of the hospital’s capacity. By expanding, Monday said the goal is to not have to turn any patient away because of capacity concerns.

To add additional space, the hospital needs approval from the state, which it has already applied for.

An additional 300 beds will also mean additional staff will need to be hired, a challenge as the state and hospital are already facing staff shortages.

Monday said in the coming years, UK HealthCare will need to hire an additional 4,800 employees. UK plans to open the 12th floor of Pavillion A at Chandler next year, which was originally built as a “shell” floor. That will mean a need for an additional 340 full-time employees.

To address staffing shortages, the university and health care system are working on building partnerships to educate the next generation of health employees, DiPaola said.

“There is a shortage of physicians and nurses, and in many of the different health sciences as well,” DiPaola said. “One of the things we’re doing is paying attention to each of those colleges that educate students who become physicians, nurses and health sciences individuals and workforce, to do better if we bring those together.”

Additionally, the board approved $82 million of renovation plans for several existing areas of Chandler. Renovations include mother baby and labor delivery units, creating new space for advanced endoscopy services, creating an observational unit and expanding operating rooms in Pavillion A.

Health education at UK

To meet the expanding needs of the UK HealthCare campus, UK is also looking to partner with the academic side of the university. The university is constructing a health education building, which will bring together four health-related colleges: the College of Medicine, the College of Nursing, the College of Health Sciences and the College of Public Health.

The building is scheduled to open in 2026, located between UK’s main campus and the hospital campus. By bringing the different programs under one roof, DiPaola said there will be more opportunities for collaboration and to address the health care needs of the state.

“It’s an opportunity to bring those colleges together on a regular basis to sort out and coordinate on how we increase the workforce for Kentucky,” DiPaola said.