Hospital building boom

If you build it, will they come?

Hospitals are spending money building new, shiny facilities to house revenue-generating services like operating rooms, endoscopy suites, oncology and cardiovascular centers.

Jordan Hospital, which is south of Boston, maxed its credit to the limit building a pricey expansion. Unfortunately, admissions declined and now the hospital is in financial distress and laying off workers.

Community hospitals are under duress competing with larger academic medical centers. In their zeal to compete, they often partake in a building arms race they can’t possibly hope to win.