WORCESTER, Mass. - UMass Memorial Medical Center has cut the ribbon on the North Pavilion Acute-Care Facility and they'll be admitting the first patient this month.

Monday's celebration at 378 Plantation Street in Worcester marks UMass Memorial Health adding 72 patient beds to their system as the new building opens.

UMass is calling the opening of the North Pavillion acute-care facility a significant milestone in their commitment to advancing health care in the community.

Attendees got a chance to tour the facility, which they say features advanced technology and comfortable spaces to ensure patients receive the best possible treatment and experience.

While the North Pavilion addresses the ongoing hospital bed shortage in Massachusetts by expanding inpatient capacity, UMass said there’s still a lot of work to be done.

“Right now, this second, I checked before I came over, there's 77 patients waiting for a bed," UMass Memorial Health President and CEO Dr. Eric Dickson, MD said. "So, for five of them, we won't have space come a couple of weeks. But we are excited that we'll be able to get some of those patients out of the emergency department and here.”

“You know, Worcester County, Central Massachusetts is one of the most under bedded areas of the state," UMass Memorial Medical Center President Justin Precourt said. "Yet we're also one of the only areas of the state that continues to grow. This building will help address those needs that we face each and every day."

The medical center’s president Justin Precourt said another new 19-bed unit is expected to come online in January of 2026 over at the Memorial Campus on Belmont Street.

Precourt said they know the new North Pavilion won’t solve all of their bedding problems but it will make a significant impact for the area.