$200 Million Expansion Announced For University Hospitals Ahuja

BEACHWOOD, OH — The University Hospitals Ahuja Medical Center will break ground on a $200 million expansion project in the fall.

The hospital system said Ahuja currently provides services to 1.3 million patients annually. The facility, which opened in 2011, includes a 144-bed hospital, 22-bed emergency department, and a 60,000-square-foot outpatient medical building.

The $200 million expansion will add a second, five-floor hospital tower and a two-floor sports medicine complex to the southwest side of the existing buildings.

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“As a result of significant increased patient demand for our services and our plan for the future health care needs of the community, we are extremely pleased to announce this further development of UH Ahuja Medical Center,” said Thomas F. Zenty III, CEO of UH.

The new facility will include:

• New labor and delivery services
• New neonatal intensive care unit
• New, expanded emergency room (going from 22 beds to 30 beds)
• An expanded women's health and comprehensive breast health center
• Expanded radiology department
• The largest sports medicine complex in Northeast Ohio, with a performance center, outpatient rehab, 18 examination rooms, two diagnostic radiology units, and access to MRI capabilities and operating rooms.
• New ambulatory surgical center, with eight new operating rooms and 32 pre- and post-op beds
• Expanded ambulatory services
• Expanded observation unit
• New short stay unit (for patients that need less than 24 hours of care in the ambulatory surgical center)

“Based on the patients we are seeing across the system, there is an incredible need for expanded NICU services, which the Ahuja Phase 2 project will address. Our 87-bed UH Rainbow NICU on UH’s main campus is often filled near to capacity,” said Dr. David Simon, president of University Hospitals Medical Centers.

The $200 million expansion will be funded through bond financing and donor generosity, the hospital system said. When completed, UH hopes the expansion will create 1,000 new jobs, both part- and full-time.

The architects for the expansion are HKS, Inc., the firm that designed the original UH Ahuja campus. The project should take about three years to complete.

“My family and I are pleased with the role UH Ahuja has played in providing high quality health care to thousands of families since its opening in 2011. We look forward to the next phase of development and its continued role to the community. We remain committed to our continued support and dedication to this great institution," said Monte Ahuja, whose name lends itself to the campus.

This is the latest Northeast Ohio expansion for the University Hospitals system. In 2018, UH invested $40 million into the UH Rainbow Center for Women & Children, which provides upgraded care for both mother and child. That facility is located in Cleveland's Midtown community.

“We believe that our efforts to expand access to services, in Cleveland’s Midtown and at UH Ahuja, will help our patients be well, get well and manage their complex health conditions,” said Simon.