ChristianaCare's plans to expand in the southern part of the state, totaling more than $117 million for both proposed campuses, are not yet settled.
The state's main health systems weighed-in at a recent health resources board meeting on proposed plans to build two health campuses in Camden and Georgetown.
Bayhealth, TidalHealth and Beebe Healthcare, the state's three southern health systems, took the position that a ChristianaCare's plans won't address the area's most pressing health needs. Both Christiana's planned campuses would house a small hospital with eight in-patient beds and eight emergency beds on the first floor, and out patient care on the second floor.
But Kyle Benoit, the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Bayhealth, said his hospital supports Christiana's investment in primary care, behavioral health, and specialty care in Kent and Sussex, but these don't need the Health Resources Board's approval.
And the in-patient and emergency beds that do need approval are a high-cost, low-volume benefit.
"ER and inpatient are some of the most expensive parts of a healthcare organization," Benoit said. "They are the most difficult to staff, the most high cost to run."
He added Delaware focused policy on lowering healthcare costs over the last five years, and "it makes no sense to introduce a more high cost setting into an area already being served by Bayhealth."
Bayhealth has its own build out planned in the next few years, with added in-patient and primary care services.
ChristianaCare, the state's largest health system, is largely based in New Castle County, though it does have locations in Rehoboth, Milford, Smyrna, and Dover. And it argued that Kent County's population is projected to grow by more than 5% by 2030, and Sussex County's population is set to increase by more than 9% in that time period, making it one of the most rapidly growing counties in the country.
And the two campuses would build out services it already provides through its four southern Delaware locations.
ChristianaCare’s Pauline Corso said providers, "work hard for their patients every day, but they're caring for communities whose healthcare needs continue to grow rapidly."
The “mini hospitals” will help address long emergency care wait times, that drag behind national benchmarks, she said. Delaware ranks fourth in one study for longest ER wait times, though this performance is similar to its neighboring states, as Maryland ranks number one.
ChristianaCare filed intent for the new health campuses in Georgetown and Camden in February and April of this year, respectively.
During the October presentations, ChristianaCare officials said for its plans to work, it needs to have both the primary care piece of the "mini-hospitals" and the in-patient beds approved.
The Health Resources Board didn’t decide whether ChristianaCare’s plans can move forward. Its next meeting is mid-November.
