Montgomery Hospital in Norristown will be closing, and the new Einstein Medical Center Montgomery will be opening in East Norriton.
There has been concern about losing the old hospital, but the new building is bringing a state-of the art facility to the area.
Einstein Medical Center Montgomery on West Germantown Pike is located on 87 acres of a former golf course.
The hospital is completely digital and features rooms with wall-to-wall windows, individually-controlled thermostats, and each with its own patient lift.
"That's a safety feature from both a patient perspective and employee perspective," said COO Beth Duffy.
To help patients maintain their privacy and to reduce noise, nurses are able to view them from outside their rooms.
"At night, we will be closing the patient doors and the nursing staff will be able to view the patients from outside the hallway via a viewing window," explained Duffy.
The neo-natal intensive care unit boasts separate rooms for eight newborn patients.
"The privacy of the family and for the baby will be extremely important in this hospital," said Dr. David Hoffman, Director of Newborn Services.
"I think having a quieter environment is going to make a difference in their care," said Dr. Jody Zisk.
The new facility hopes to attract higher income and better-insured patients.
It replaces the aging Montgomery Hospital in the heart of Norristown which is less than four miles away, and the oldest general hospital in Southeastern Pennsylvania, outside of Philadelphia, to provide healthcare to Norristown and surrounding communities.
Because it is Norristown's largest private employer, there had also been concern that hundreds of jobs would be lost, but most of the 730 employees say that's not the case now.
"Not at all," said Laura Milito. "Everybody got a letter in the mail and everybody is going over."
"Those that are not going already have other employment or retired," said Karen Houston. "About three months ago, we offered every one of them an opportunity at Einstein Medical Center Montgomery; all but 7 accepted," Duffy said.
Also the hospital is in the process of hiring employees for 250 newly-created positions, and officials say about 40% of those jobs have been filled with people from the surrounding community.
