$296M Baystate expansion dedicated

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - Baystate Medical Center formally unveiled its $296 million expansion project Tuesday morning.

Baystate Health CEO Mark Tolosky calls the expansion a “dream come true.” The project features the hospital’s new MassMutual Wing and the Davis Family Heart and Vascular Center, and their dedication marks the completion of the first phase of a larger project to replace facilities at western Massachusetts’ largest hospital.

Among the improvements that patients can expect are large, private rooms set away from noisy areas, and state-of-the-art surgical suites.

Outside the hospital during the dedication ceremony, dozens of nurses from Baystate Franklin Medical Center and the Baystate Visiting Nurse Association picketed on Springfield Street , demanding collective bargaining for hospital workers.

The MassMutual Wing and the Davis Family Heart and Vascular Center are scheduled to open on March 2.