Pocono Medical Center on Thursday announced it has signed a letter of understanding with the Farda family and DF Pocono Associates to increase and improve access by building a state-of-the-art second campus hospital facility, called Pocono Medical Center West, on a 40-acre site in Tannersville, Pocono Township.

Pocono Medical Center West will feature an emergency department, and in conjunction with PMC's emergency department and level III trauma center, will provide facilities to accommodate about 80,000 annual emergency visits. Other specific plans for the new campus are being finalized."Pocono Medical Center West will allow us to bring the most sophisticated health care technology and the highest quality care to an expanding number of patients here in Monroe County," said Jeff Snyder, president and CEO of Pocono Medical Center.Over the past seven years, PMC has focused on enhancing and adding to the inpatient and outpatient clinical services at its headquarters campus in East Stroudsburg and at its more than 20 other locations. Significant investments have been made in the ESSA Heart & Vascular Institute, the Mattioli Emergency Center, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Trauma Center, the Hughes Cancer Center, Bartonsville Healthcare Center, Pocono Ambulatory Surgery Center and the West End Healthcare Center."Today, with these investments in key clinical services in place, it's time to focus on enhancing our physical plant by expanding our services to the primary areas of population growth in Monroe County," Snyder said.Over the next several months, PMC will complete its due diligence of the site and submit applications for necessary regulatory approvals.