ROCKPORT — Pen Bay Medical Center will mark a milestone in its Emergency Department (ED) expansion with the opening of 11 additional exam rooms on Monday, Sept. 18.

The work is part of a three-phase construction project that will nearly double the size of the PBMC Emergency Department when completed in 2024. The opening of the new exam rooms are part of Phase II and include three rooms designed specifically for providing care to behavioral health patients.

“The ED expansion is necessary for several reasons, including advancements in emergency medicine that require more equipment and time but also lead to better outcomes for patients, especially those suffering a stroke or heart attack,” said PBMC, in a news release. “There has also been a significant increase in the severity of cases requiring emergency care in recent years, as well as an increase in behavioral health cases.”

The Emergency Department upgrade was largely funded by the Campaign for Coastal Health, a $21.5 million capital campaign that also funded the construction of the new Beebe Health Center on the PBMC campus.

Pen Bay Medical Center is part of MaineHealth, a not-for-profit integrated health system consisting of nine local hospital systems, a comprehensive behavioral healthcare network, diagnostic services, home health agencies, and more than 1,600 employed and independent physicians working together through an Accountable Care Organization. With more than 19,000 employees, MaineHealth is the largest health system in northern New England and provides preventive care, diagnosis and treatment to 1.1 million residents in Maine and New Hampshire. For more information, please visit pbmc.org.