SAVANNAH — Memorial Health recently submitted a letter of intent to the Georgia Department of Community Health for a $30 million renovation to its Heart and Vascular Institute tower.

"This investment demonstrates HCA Healthcare’s commitment to realize the vision of Memorial’s leadership and community for a dedicated heart and vascular building on our campus," Memorial Health CEO Shayne George said. "Once this project is complete, all five floors of the tower will be fully operational to provide exceptional care for our patients and their families."

The planned renovation will build out the third and fourth floors of the tower to accommodate 58 private, inpatient rooms.

Since 1967, when Dr. Thomas Yeh performed the first open heart surgery in Savannah, Memorial has been treating heart disease in southeast Georgia. The $45 million, 189,000 square-foot Heart and Vascular Institute tower opened in December 2005 to house cardiovascular and critical care services. In January 2015, Memorial opened the fifth floor of the tower, the Spellman-Thomas Wing, which expanded the Heart and Vascular Institute by 32 beds — six cardiovascular ICU beds and 26 step-down beds.

Memorial Health provides the region’s only Level I trauma center for the most acute illness and injuries, as well as dedicated children’s, cancer and heart hospitals to serve a 35-county area in southeast Georgia and southern South Carolina. The system includes its flagship hospital – Memorial Health University Medical Center - a 612-bed academic medical center; Memorial Health University Physicians’ primary and specialty care networks; a major medical education program; business and industry services; and NurseOne, a 24-hour call center. Memorial Health is a part of the HCA Healthcare family, the largest provider of care in the United States and the UK.