Luminis Health's Doctors Community Medical Center in Lanham is circling April 22, 2026, for a long-awaited groundbreaking on its Women’s Health Pavilion, a project hospital leaders say will finally bring inpatient obstetrics, labor and delivery, and postpartum care back to northern Prince George’s County. The three-story, roughly 67,000-square-foot pavilion is slated to open in late 2028 and is pitched as a homegrown fix for a gap that has pushed many county residents to deliver babies outside the county. Hospital officials say the facility will feature private birthing suites, dedicated C-section operating rooms and a Level II special-care nursery.
According to Luminis Health, the pavilion design also layers in midwife-supported birthing suites, modernized operating rooms and a rooftop helipad with direct access to the emergency department. The system’s project page outlines broader campus upgrades, from utility relocation to a redesigned emergency department, meant to support expanded maternal, surgical and specialty care. Luminis estimates the center could welcome roughly 2,000 babies a year once it is fully up and running.
The push to start construction is happening even as the hospital works to firm up its financing. As reported by the Washington Business Journal, project leaders say they still expect to secure "tens of millions" more in state capital support to fully cover construction and site-work costs. State budget records show lawmakers have already earmarked $19 million for the pavilion in the 2024 capital bill, according to the House Capital Budget Subcommittee.
The plan has cleared a major regulatory hurdle. The Maryland Health Care Commission granted a Certificate of Need in December 2023, and its staff report later detailed a project change request that pared back the scope and budget in response to rising construction costs, according to the Maryland Health Care Commission. The filing shows the original nearly $300 million proposal was scaled down, with the hospital proposing a smaller obstetrics pavilion and a new estimated total of about $210.8 million. The public documents also spell out phased work, from utility relocation and site work already underway to future interior renovations that hospital leaders say are needed before clinical services can begin.
Local officials and health advocates have cast the pavilion as a concrete step toward narrowing stubborn maternal-health gaps in Prince George’s County. The Washington Post’s 2023 coverage of the commission’s approval highlighted how many county residents leave the county to give birth and noted that pregnancy-related maternal mortality indicators have lagged state averages, a trend county leaders frequently cite in arguing for expanded in-county services. Supporters say keeping births closer to home should strengthen continuity of care for families who currently travel for delivery and neonatal services.
What Comes Next
Luminis Health says a ceremonial groundbreaking is set for April 22, 2026, with utility relocation and site work already in progress and pavilion construction planned to continue alongside phased campus renovations. The project page also names Hensel Phelps as the construction partner and notes upcoming information sessions and bid opportunities for contractors, a sign the system is shifting from planning into procurement. County and hospital officials say the buildout will generate construction jobs in the near term and, once the pavilion opens, expand local healthcare hiring tied to the new women’s services.
