Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center has been awarded a $1.5 million grant from the Maximilian E. & Marion O. Hoffman Foundation to support the emergency department in the hospital’s new John T. O’Connell Tower.
As a result of the grant, the Maximilian E. & Marion O. Hoffman Foundation Emergency Department will expand Saint Francis’ emergency services from 48 to 70 treatment bays and increase space for ambulances from six to 10 parking spots. A new helipad for medical helicopters will sit atop the 10-story tower.
Expected to begin operations in early 2011, the tower will encompass 318,000 square feet. In addition to the new emergency department, it will house replacement operating rooms, patient beds and facilities for the Connecticut Joint Replacement Institute.
Based in West Hartford, the Hoffman Foundation was founded in 1983 by Marion O. Hoffman, whose husband, Maximilian E. Hoffman, was one of the first distributors of foreign automobiles in the United States. It supports charities in the areas of medicine, education and the arts.
Founded in 1897, Saint Francis is a major teaching hospital licensed for 617 acute inpatient beds and 65 bassinets. It is the largest Catholic hospital in New England.
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