Updated 12:15 PM
SYRACUSE -- Groundbreaking took place Monday morning on a $220 million expansion project at St. Joseph's Hospital Health Center.
The project will include construction of a new emergency room complex, operating suites, intensive care unit, additional patient rooms and a data center. It is the largest project in the hospital's 140-year history.
The expansion will be built on the north end of the hospital's Prospect Hill campus at Laurel and Townsend Streets. It will create 600 construction jobs and 200 permanent health care jobs.
St Joseph's is a 431-bed, non-profit hospital sponsored by the Sisters of St. Francis. The new facility is expected to open sometime in 2011.
