Location: Athol, Massachusetts
Cost: $19,300,000
Size: 112,000 square feet
Type: Hospital Expansion
Status: Completed September 2020
Athol Memorial Hospital (AMH) is a Critical Access, non-profit hospital serving the nine communities of the North Quabbin, Massachusetts region. The hospital partnered with Heywood Hospital of Gardner, MA in 2013 to form Heywood Healthcare, a community-owned, non-profit healthcare organization serving the north central region of Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire.
At the time, Athol Memorial Hospital’s outdated emergency department cared for over 11,000 patients a year. To increase capacity and better serve patients, the project included a 43,500 square foot addition, renovation and modernization of the emergency department, and the construction of a new medical office building.
As a result, the emergency services, audiology, cardiology, diabetes care, oncology, and imaging services are greatly enhanced. Practitioners’ offices are centralized on the AMH campus, thereby providing better care to the community. The new, upgraded facility will help support the hospital’s long-term viability while attracting and retaining practitioners to this rural community, which remains a longstanding challenge.
To develop and manage this $19.3 million project, Athol Memorial Hospital engaged M&S Development. M&S took the lead on navigating the complex, multi-layered financing package, which included a $17 million New Markets Tax Credits allocation. The project achieved financial closing in December 2017. Construction was completed in September 2020.