Prince George’s County has a shiny, new $70 million medical center. The University of Maryland Laurel Medical Center opened to the public Sunday, June 4.

The 83,742-square-foot facility replaces the Laurel Regional Hospital, which was downsized to an outpatient medical facility in 2018. The new center is another addition to the University of Maryland medical system’s expansion within Prince George’s County, with prior projects including the University of Maryland Capital Region Medical Center.

“I think that the goal of the University of Maryland medical system is actually to have a comprehensive health care plan here in Prince George’s County, which extends to Laurel,” says Gloria Oniha, Director of Nursing and Operations. “This is kind of a mini sample of that, having the private offices here, having an emergency room here, the surgery here – all in the same building.”

The new medical center hopes to be a “one-stop shop” for residents in the area. It provides a full range of outpatient services, including behavioral health, 24-hour emergency care, surgical services, primary care, and wound care.

Countywide, priorities for health initiatives have focused on addressing access to care, mental/behavioral health, obesity and metabolic syndrome, and cancer, according to the Prince George’s County Community Health Assessment. In Laurel, specifically, Oniha says that pediatric services, geriatric support, respiratory care, primary care, and behavioral health were essential needs.

The design of the new space kept those priorities in mind, and designers put lessons learned from the pandemic into play. One of the biggest changes in the new medical building is greater separation of space for individual patient needs.

“So we have a different pathway for patients that might have COVID or another type of a pandemic situation,” says Lisa Hardesty, Project Lead for Laurel Medical Center. “They can enter from a different door from the main population and go to private rooms that have their own private bathroom so that containment can be contained in that space.”

The medical center is separated into two levels, with emergency services on the top and outpatient needs, like extended behavioral therapy, primary care, and surgery on the bottom. And unlike in their previous location, all of the services are now located under one roof instead of in separate buildings.

“Now, having the services within that building, we’re able to refer patients directly from the emergency room to follow up with the primary care physician or specialty that they need,” Oniha says. “And also, if they are seeing patients down there that need emergent care, they too can also refer the patient off to the emergency room.”

A majority of patients coming to Laurel are discharged within a few days and don’t require an inpatient stay, but Oniha says that for the remaining 10-15% of patients that do need a bed, they’re able to transfer them to another facility.

“We do have a process in place where we can transfer them out, to our sister facility, Capital Largo, or to other local community hospitals like Howard County Adventist, depending on the care the patient needs,” Oniha says. “But our first go-to will be to [Capital] Regional or any of the University of Maryland facilities.”

For now, the old hospital still stands on 16 acres but will be torn down to make space for more health and wellness buildings for a future medical campus in Laurel.

“We’re here and open; we’ve been here, ready. We want to take care of you,” Hardesty says.

The new site is located right next to the old hospital at 7300 Van Dusen Road, Laurel, MD.