Hartford HealthCare has announced its four-story Bliss Expansion building will open for business in a phased-in approach at Hartford Hospital beginning Oct. 18.
Nearly two years after hospital officials broke ground on the $70 million expansion project, a ribbon cutting was held Sept. 29 with occupancy taking place about three weeks later.
The Bliss Expansion building — located on the Hartford Hospital campus at 71 Jefferson St. — will feature 18 critical care beds and five operating rooms. It expands the hospital’s intensive care unit by 20%, MRI and diagnostic capabilities by 25% and operating room capacity by 10%.
Hospital officials said the 50,000-square-foot addition is intended to make healthcare more affordable.
“We are transforming health care,” said Hartford HealthCare CEO Jeffrey Flaks in a press release. “Our mission is to make healthcare more accessible, more affordable, do it with higher levels of excellence and make it more equitable. This building represents that higher level of care. This is the future of medicine. This is a huge step forward and it enables us to think and dream bigger.”
Funds for the expansion were made via private donations and construction was done during the pandemic.
“It is a testament to our tenacity and determination to complete the project,” said Bimal Patel, Hartford Hospital president and the senior vice president of Hartford HealthCare’s Hartford region. “This building is needled through buildings and over a tunnel – all done during pandemic years.”
The new building – which is five stories tall – is located adjacent to the Cheney and Crane buildings.
The Bliss Expansion building will employ 250 people to start; Hartford Hospital employs 7,000 people in total.
