UK King's Daughters receives approval for $335 million investment in patient care
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Sept. 18, 2026) — The University of Kentucky Board of Trustees approved the initiation of the design and construction of several projects for UK King's Daughters in Ashland, Kentucky, and Portsmouth, Ohio. All together, these projects will invest an estimated $335 million in patient care over the next five years.
On the Ashland campus, one project will be visible from the outside while several others will benefit patient care areas inside the hospital. An additional project will expand access and patient care services at King's Daughters Ohio.
In Ashland, three floors will be added to Parkview Patient Tower 2, currently overlooking Central Park with six floors. The new floors will the home of 150 additional inpatient beds, supporting the need for increased bed capacity.
In Portsmouth, Ohio, the King's Daughters Ohio campus will begin a project to increase Emergency and Urgent Care capacity, along with additional space for diagnostic and outpatient services.
"By expanding critical services, increasing capacity and modernizing clinical spaces, we are positioning UK King's Daughters to meet the region’s growing healthcare needs today and into the future," said Sara Marks, UK King's Daughters president/CEO. "These projects will enhance the patient experience, support our care teams and ensure we continue delivering exceptional care to the communities we serve.”
Other approved projects for the Ashland campus include:
- Renovation and expansion of the Cardiovascular Operating Rooms to increase capacity, including the addition of a second hybrid operating room. The project will also add more Post-Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) rooms and Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (CVICU) beds.
- Renovation and expansion of the inpatient pediatric unit to a 12-bed unit to support growth in inpatient pediatrics.
- Renovation and expansion of the Main Operating Room to increase the size of existing rooms as well as pre- and post-operative care space to support an increase in robotic procedures and the complexity of neurosurgery and orthopedic procedures.
- Renovation and expansion of the Labor and Delivery Unit
- Renovation and expansion of Laboratory Services, allowing space for additional automation and efficiency.
UK HealthCare is the hospitals and clinics of the University of Kentucky. But it is so much more. It is more than 10,000 dedicated healthcare professionals committed to providing advanced subspecialty care for the most critically injured and ill patients from the Commonwealth and beyond. It also is the home of the state’s only National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, a Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit that cares for the tiniest and sickest newborns and the region’s only Level 1 trauma center.
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