Beebe cuts ribbon on new Lewes entrance

Beebe Healthcare officials gathered July 1 to celebrate the opening of the new entrance to the Lewes campus, the first part of a multiphase project to renovate and modernize the hospital.

The new west lobby entrance includes a canopy over the valet area and a brick-paver-like driveway with larger, easier-to-read road directions.

“This is part of our continued expansion process,” said Beebe President and CEO Dr. David Tam. “If you look at this edifice, it is symbolic in a sense that we are entering this next generation: It’s a new, innovative, modern-looking structure. It’s a physical reminder of what we are doing to advance innovative care here in Lewes.”

Tam said the new entrance gives patients a weatherproof approach to get them in and out of their cars, and improves traffic flow. 

The project took nearly a year to complete, in part, Tam said, because the factory making pieces for the structure ended up getting shut down in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Thomas Protack, president of Beebe Medical Foundation, said, “It creates a welcoming entrance to our historic campus for our patients, families and our visitors. It makes it easier because people were always confused about where the main entrance was.”

Protack said the next order of business for Beebe is renovating the lobby to make it easier for patients and visitors to navigate the hallways.

“You’ll be able to go straight down to the main elevator entrances and not have to meander through the hallways,” he said. 

Beebe plans to renovate the lobby by 2022, with construction happening in stages over the next two years.