Camden likes Cooper's boom of expansion

Cooper University Hospital is a noisy place these days. The blaring sirens of ambulances are accompanied by the banging and screeching of heavy equipment as workers create a $222 million patient pavilion in downtown Camden.

The health system is already Camden County's largest employer, with more than 5,000 workers, and the new tower is part of a $500 million plan to expand that considerable presence in the beleaguered county seat.

"It's a symbol to the outside world of a growing presence of substantial institutions," said George E. Norcross III, chairman of the hospital's board.

Among the projects proposed or under way: the pavilion, with patient and operating rooms, lobby and emergency room addition; an $80 million cancer center; a $50 million biomedical research building; and a $140 million medical school building.

Most recently, officials announced a plan to relocate 400 Cooper staffers who now work in Cherry Hill to Camden. Cooper will buy a state office building in the city to house them.

In order to keep those state jobs in the city, New Jersey will build a structure somewhere near the Walter Rand Transportation Center.

"Cooper Hospital is a significant player in Camden, and it's really important for us to support those organizations that take it upon themselves to revitalize Camden," said Lopa Kolluri, an executive in the New Jersey Department of Treasury. "We're really excited about all the work that Cooper is doing."

Beyond buildings, the hospital's vision includes revitalizing the surrounding neighborhood, much as the University of Pennsylvania has done in West Philadelphia.

Camden observer Thomas Corcoran, president of the Cooper's Ferry Development Association, said the hospital's plan will have significant economic and social impact.

"If it's done right, and I think it will be, I think it's going to transform Cooper Plaza," Corcoran said, referring to the surrounding neighborhood. "It can have a huge impact on the city, on taxes, on spin-off development."

Cooper is working to coordinate new and rehabbed housing, with incentives for employees to live there. It is building and maintaining parks. Its officials talk not of a hospital but a "health science campus" rooted in the city.

And it is not growing alone.

The "eds and meds" - the city's universities and hospitals - got a $32.5 million share for Camden of the state's economic recovery act money, and have added $314 million of their own funds to new projects, according to a study released this month.

Jobs for city residents are up by 31 percent, to 1,250, since 2002. Camden's unemployment rate has dropped from 16 percent to 9 percent in that time, the study said.

That's good news for a city long plagued by crime, poverty, and a dearth of viable businesses. Many say the 2002 recovery act hasn't done enough for Camden, a criticism that has not extended to the medical sector.

John P. Sheridan Jr., Cooper's president and chief executive officer, said the climate for change is much better now than it has been in the past.

"There's a lot of interaction and cooperation to get things done that may not have been here five years ago," Sheridan said. "Part of it is things are actually happening now. Every time something new happens, people believe that more can happen."

Some of Cooper's movement can be attributed to its chairman and rainmaker. Norcross, the South Jersey Democratic power broker, has a long history with the hospital and his political allies have steered millions in government grants to Cooper.

But in Norcross' view, efforts such as Cooper's - not government money - will ultimately transform Camden.

"Government is not the answer to changing the area around Cooper," he said. "Government is a partner, but private capital that comes from places like Cooper is what drives successful redevelopment."

The hospital has come a long way. In 1999, Cooper had lost millions to fraud by its own officials. It was laying off employees. Its bonds were below junk status.

Officials considered abandoning their commitment to Camden, said Norcross, a board member at the time, but ultimately decided to stay put and expand.

The hospital righted its financial ship, attracted top doctors from Philadelphia and elsewhere, and began construction. A marketing campaign featuring TV personality Kelly Ripa, a Camden County native and Norcross family friend, has helped put Cooper on the map.

The hospital seems to be faring better than many. Its revenue was $667 million last year, up from $582 million in 2005. And while most of its growth is in Camden, Cooper is also expanding in the suburbs, in part to finance its work elsewhere.

Around New Jersey, other hospitals are suffering, with sharp cuts in state aid and 20 closings since 1992, according to the New Jersey Hospital Association. But Cooper faces less competition than North Jersey hospitals, and is a "safety net" facility, which means it gets a higher reimbursement rate than other hospitals for Medicaid patients.

These days, Cooper's focus is on keeping South Jersey residents' health-care dollars from going to Philadelphia. Sheridan estimated $2 billion is lost annually to institutions across the river.

The new buildings help that mission, Sheridan said.

Camden Mayor Gwendolyn Faison said the expansion will help the whole city by bringing jobs and hope.

"This is the biggest anchor we could have in the city of Camden," she said. "For me, Cooper is the kind of institution that will rebuild Camden. I believe we'll be a health-care destination."

To see a live Webcam of the construction at Cooper University Hospital, and get a glimpse of new facilities that are set to rise, go to http://

go.philly.com/cooperhospitalEndText