News of the endeavor comes just three years after the hospital addressed previous growth issues through relocation from a smaller Downtown site to its current 277,000-sf campus, which cost an estimated $65 million to complete. The need to increase the size of the hospital's facilities comes as no surprise; hospital officials anticipated the increasing need for more space even as they settled into the then-new site in 2001.

"The pace of healthcare is accelerating," says Dr. Linda Ferris, vice president of strategic planning for Anne Arundel Health System, the organization that operates the hospital. "With the growing population, particularly the baby boomers, we need to be ready to meet the community's needs."

Last year, the need for everything from additional beds to parking space grew--since the relocation, inpatient admissions have reached 23,000, up from 19,000--and Vision 2010, an expansion plan designed to confront the issue, was put in place. The initiative calls for the addition of 51 private patient rooms as well as 18 critical care beds within the new nine-story building. The tower will also contain eight operating rooms, as well as support services and outpatient services areas.

If all goes as planned, construction on the addition could begin in 2007, with work wrapping up in 2010. When the project reaches completion, the hospital will increase its staff of 1,700 by 300.