CNB Medical News: Our Lady of Lourdes/Virtua Hospital Plans Six Story Addition
Friday, September 15, 2023
CAMDEN CITY, NJ (September 15, 2023)(CNBNews)--Our Lady of Lourdes/Virtua Hospital is planning an expansion. The hospital announced to the Courier Post on August 20, 2023 that it has plans to construct a six-story tower addition amounting to 254,155 square feet.
The expansion will not include any new patient rooms but will include new elevators and renovations to the existing hospital to be completed in two phases. The tower will include new operating suites for cardiac and neurosurgical procedures and for organ transplants. The helipad, which is currently at ground level will be raised to the rooftop level.
Our Lady of Lourdes is the only hospital in Southern New Jersey that performs kidney, liver, and pancreas transplants. At night, Mary's crown is lit if there has been a successful transplant that day.
As of August 20, 2023, the plans had been submitted to the city's Planning Commission. However, on Wednesday, a representative for the city's Planning Commission said that the plans have not been approved and that will take some time.
There is no doubt that the expansion will be good for South Jersey. There is a "but" following. Next to the hospital, on the west side, is a cloistered convent for Franciscan nuns. As nuns became fewer and older, the last of them were transferred. The convent was sold, presumably to Virtua/Our Lady of Lourdes. It has been nearly impossible to find any information on the former convent. It was built at least 80 years ago but the Camden County Historical Society had no further information. Googlemaps shows an outline of the building but no detail and since both the convent and the hospital are not taxed, there no tax records. There were no newspaper accounts when the convent was built or closed. So, it appears another historic building will be lost to "progress."