KANSAS CITY, KAN. ? An abandoned helicopter pad will house a medical building in the next two or three years. But exactly what will be on that spot at the University of Kansas Hospital is yet to be determined.

Hospital officials gathered Wednesday to break ground on a $72 million, 153,000-square-foot facility that — as of now — is scheduled to house a new emergency room and heart hospital.

But CEO Irene Cumming said officials were investigating whether to build the emergency room on the space north of 39th and Cambridge streets — where they broke ground Wednesday — and construct all or some of the heart hospital on the south side of the street.

“We’re trying to keep our options a bit open,” she said.

Cumming said the heart hospital was needed to accommodate the influx of patients the University of Kansas Hospital had seen since revitalizing its heart program three years ago.

She said the number of patient discharges at the hospital increased more than 9 percent to about 19,000 during the fiscal year ending June 30. The growth in KU’s cardiology program was a significant portion of that increase. Heart catheter procedures are up about 45 percent from last year, and heart surgeries are up 44 percent.

“Our projections show those will continue to increase,” said Dr. Randy Genton, a cardiosurgeon. “We’ve been quite successful over the past three years.”

Irene Cumming, CEO of University of Kansas Hospital, and Dr. Michael Gorton of Mid-America Cardiology break ground on a new heart hospital at the KU Medical Center in Kansas City, Kan. Cumming said work would begin soon on the project, though the exact design of the building and its contents are unknown.

Cumming said hospital officials would have about a year to decide whether to build the entire heart hospital on the site north of 39th and Cambridge — adjacent to the current hospital — or across the street.

During that time, preliminary work will be done on the site, and work will begin on the 25,000-square-foot emergency department on the building’s first floor.

The project is slated for completion in 2005 or 2006.

The facility or facilities will be funded with bonds paid for with hospital revenue. The hospital is affiliated with Kansas University, though since 1998 it has operated under an independent authority.

The hospital has reported strong financial results in recent years. Operating revenues increased to $350 million during the fiscal year ending June 30. They were $320 million the previous year, in fiscal year 2002. Net revenues also have been increasing during that time, officials said.

Robert Honse, of Lawrence, former CEO of Farmland Inc. and hospital advisory board member, said the time was right for the heart hospital.

“As we look at where the future is and the aging population of Kansas City and the likely need of this type of facility, this seemed like the next logical step,” he said.

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