Ascension St. Vincent Plans Micro-hospital near Purdue

Indianapolis-based Ascension St. Vincent is expanding its footprint to West Lafayette with a neighborhood hospital near the Discovery Park District at Purdue University. The health system says the facility will have an emergency room and eight inpatient beds.

It will be located near Airport Road and Highway 231, an area of the city that has seen the development of the mixed-use, innovation-focused district and new housing complexes.

Ascension says the hospital is the first step of what will be a larger medical complex near Purdue.

“Our expansion in West Lafayette comes at a time when access to convenient health care options is more important than ever,” said Jonathan Nalli, chief executive officer of Ascension St. Vincent Indiana. “We are responding to the community’s need for new ways to access high-quality care in a way that fits into everyday life.”

Ascension St. Vincent says a hospital of this size and scope serves as a middle ground between larger in-patient hospitals and urgent care centers.

In addition to the ER and inpatient services, it will also have laboratory and imaging services.

“This facility will bring more options and additional competition to the health care market in the region, bolstering efforts by the university to continue to provide high-quality health care while managing cost,” said Chris Ruhl, Purdue chief financial officer and treasurer.

Construction is scheduled to begin this summer.