Acute-care facility will serve residents of York County, Pennsylvania and nearby northern Maryland.
YORK, Pa. (April 23, 2024) – Officials from WellSpan Health, one of the nation’s most dynamic healthcare organizations, and Emerus, the nation’s leading developer of small-format hospitals, today held a ceremonial groundbreaking for the much-anticipated WellSpan Shrewsbury Hospital, which will elevate healthcare access for residents in York County, Pennsylvania, and the surrounding region.
“As WellSpan continues to reimagine the face of healthcare, we recognize that a one-size-fits-all approach isn’t always best and that to truly make healthcare more accessible for our neighbors in South Central Pennsylvania, we must always strive to meet them where they are,” said Roxanna Gapstur, Ph.D., R.N., president and CEO, WellSpan Health. “Our patients in these communities have told us that they often feel underserved when it comes to convenient care close to their homes. As the leading healthcare provider in the area, we’re listening to what they say, and we are taking action by increasing access to these critical care options.”
Vic Schmerbeck, CEO of Emerus, said, “We are proud to partner with WellSpan, one of the nation’s leading hospital systems. We’re excited to help bring sustainable, compassionate, high-quality health care that will meet the needs of Pennsylvanians, now, and in the future.”
The innovative WellSpan Shrewsbury Hospital at 13515 Wolfe Road in New Freedom, Pennsylvania, will include an emergency department as well as 10 inpatient beds in a smaller, more accessible footprint than traditional hospitals. Shrewsbury Hospital will be conveniently located in a fast growing part of the region, ensuring essential medical services are readily available no matter where an individual may live, work and play.
It will operate 24/7, 365 days a year and is projected to open in late 2025. It is the one of three new hospitals WellSpan is building in partnership with Emerus over the next two years, including facilities in Carlisle and Newberry Township, Pennsylvania. The sites were chosen because of their extensive distance from current hospital services. The improved access to care and wide range of services streamlined in a smaller setting should greatly improve the patient experience.
WellSpan and Emerus have enthusiastically embraced their collaboration as a way to provide patients with long-term, high-quality health care services. Small-format hospitals are able to see, treat and discharge patients in far less time, on average, than traditional larger hospitals, without a reduction in services or quality.
In addition to inpatient and emergency care, WellSpan Shrewsbury Hospital will provide diagnostic capabilities including ultrasound, computed tomography (CT), X-ray and laboratory services. The emergency department will treat common emergency care needs such as falls, injuries, burns and infections. All three of the new hospitals, including Shrewsbury, will be fully licensed and offer high-quality patient services, in alignment with the quality provided at other WellSpan locations.
Emerus has numerous similar partnerships with leading healthcare systems including Baptist Health System, Baylor Scott & White Health, Dignity Health and MultiCare. To learn more about Emerus’ approach to these innovative hospitals, visit www.emerus.com.
For details on WellSpan’s other six acute care hospitals across South Central Pennsylvania, visit www.WellSpan.org/Hospital.
