Much of that cost, $13.6 million to be exact, involves a new 17,000-sf emergency care facility that will more than double the size of the existing emergency department. The 328-bed hospital is also getting a new 4,000-sf maternity outpatient center on the former site of the facility's HR department, which has been relocated. The New Jersey Department of Health is reviewing current plans for the latter, which will include four diagnostic rooms and four ultrasound rooms.

The hospital is experiencing significant change with the emergency wing being constructed and various departments relocating," says Henry Ossi, director of construction administration for DMR Architects of Hasbrouck Heights, which is handling the design of the renovation. "The outpatient center is a relatively small part of the larger project, but it's a new and exciting project for us."

James Caulfield, chairman of the Hoboken Municipal Hospital Authority, which operates the hospital, says that "upgrading the physical space of the emergency center is going to meet the growing demand for emergency care in the community. It will establish Hoboken University Medical Center as a market leader among Hudson County hospitals."