Deborah Heart and Lung Center secures funding for $100 million expansion

PEMBERTON TWP. — The Deborah Heart and Lung Center needed $100 million for an expansion project scheduled for completion in 2022.

And now the hospital has the money, according to officials.

Deborah announced last month it had received an $88.2 million low-interest loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the final piece of funding necessary for the expansion, said hospital officials. The hospital had already raised about $16 million toward the effort. 

The project will convert Deborah's double-occupancy in-patient rooms into private suites and add a new in-patient tower with 36 private rooms. Upon completion, Deborah will increase its capacity from 89 to 95 beds and have all private rooms, according to hospital officials. 

"Although the project was in the works prior to COVID-19, the pandemic has shown the importance of the conversion to private rooms for patient care and visitor safety," said a Deborah news release.

The expansion will also upgrade Deborah's education and research facilities by adding new technology in the electrophysiology labs and upgrading the cardiac catheterization labs. 

“We are delighted to receive word of the loan approval,” said Deborah CEO Joseph Chirichella. “We had this project on the drawing board before the pandemic, and even with the enormous difficulties and stresses placed on healthcare during the past year, our team forged ahead with our planning for the future.”

When they announced the $88.2 million loan, federal officials mentioned that "nearly 800,000 rural residents fall within Deborah's service area."

"Having access to high quality medical service is critical to the future of our rural New Jersey communities,“ said Brandon Pfeilmeier, the USDA's acting state director for New Jersey. 

Deborah is aiming to break ground on the project by the summer and to finish it by the end of 2022. The project is titled Deborah 100 because its completion will coincide with the hospital's 100th anniversary.

“This is an exciting project and marks another milestone in Deborah’s storied 100-year history,” said Chirichella.

A local news and sports reporter around Pennsylvania and New Jersey since 2015, Jarrad Daniel Saffren joined The Burlington County Times’ award-winning local news team in October 2019, adding business, education and town government features to the coverage. Contact him at jsaffren@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @JarradSaff. Please help support local journalism with a subscription to The Burlington County Times.