Maple Grove Hospital to double in size to meet high demand

North Memorial Health unveiled expansion plans Thursday to double the size of Maple Grove Hospital and add capacity to its overworked emergency room. The four-year construction project will allow the hospital to serve a fast-growing suburban population while preparing for an increase in older patients as they age, said Bjorn Gunnerud, North Memorial’s chief strategy officer. “This is really about helping the hospital keep pace with the people who depend on it,” he said. Maple Grove Hospital was the last general hospital to be built from scratch and licensed in Minnesota, which prohibits new hospital construction without legislative approval. But demand for its services quickly surpassed its capacity, fueling expansion talks shortly after it opened in 2009 . The emergency room was built for 25,000 annual visits but treated 54,000 patients last year. Advertisement North Memorial couldn’t afford to bankroll as many upgrades as it wanted, but that changed when the health system was acquired Sept. 1 by Sanford Health , which committed $500 million toward the expansion in Maple Grove. “This investment means greater access to the care [patients] need, close to home,” said Bill Gassen, Sanford’s chief executive. The commitment was part of an agreement that convinced Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison not to challenge Sanford’s acquisition of North Memorial. Sanford, a Sioux Falls-based health system that operates 22 hospitals in Minnesota, didn’t have a presence in the Twin Cities area until now. Construction will start next year and take place in phases. The expansion will feature three inpatient floors on top of the existing five-story hospital and new space to the north and west. Maple Grove Hospital is staffing 130 beds right now, but this will bring it closer to its licensed capacity of 300.