Memorial Health recently submitted a Letter of Intent to the Georgia Department of Community Health for a $30 million renovation to its Heart and Vascular Institute tower.

“This investment demonstrates HCA Healthcare’s commitment to realize the vision of Memorial’s leadership and community for a dedicated heart and vascular building on our campus,” said Memorial Health CEO Shayne George. “Once this project is complete, all five floors of the tower will be fully operational to provide exceptional care for our patients and their families.”

The planned renovation will build out the third and fourth floors of the Heart and Vascular Institute tower to accommodate 58 private, inpatient rooms.

Since 1967, when Dr. Thomas Yeh performed the first open heart surgery in Savannah, Memorial has been a leader in treating heart disease in southeast Georgia. The $45 million, 189,000 square-foot Heart & Vascular Institute tower opened in December 2005 to house cardiovascular and critical care services. In January 2015, Memorial opened the 5^th floor of the tower, the Spellman-Thomas Wing, which expanded the Heart & Vascular Institute by 32 beds – six cardiovascular ICU beds and 26 step-down beds.