Bridgeport Hospital Milford Campus is transforming a former maternity unit into a post-surgical age-friendly orthopedic unit.

MILFORD — The return of a traditional Mother’s Day run is expected to give a leg up in fundraising needed for renovations to Bridgeport Hospital’s Milford Campus.

Hospital officials hope that the Mother’s Day 5K, 3K Walk and Kids Fun Run — scheduled for May 8 — will raise $500,000 towards the 3 East renovation project, which will transform a former maternity unit into a post-surgical age-friendly orthopedic unit.

“The space is a shell right now, and our hope is to complete that work in the course of next year,” said Peggie Parniawski, executive director of patient care at Bridgeport Hospital Milford Campus. “We are looking for philanthropic opportunities to help us finance the work to be done.”

The project is slated for completion in late 2023, with the projected cost at more than $8 million, Parniawski added.

“The fundraiser is going to help us support the renovation at one of the units of the former Milford Hospital, now the Milford Campus of Bridgeport Hospital,” said John Cappiello, media relations coordinator at Bridgeport Hospital/Yale New Haven Health.

Participants will meet at the Milford Campus, 300 Seaside Ave., on Sunday. Check-in begins at 7:45 a.m., with the Kids Fun Run at 8:45 a.m.; the 5K run and 3K walk starting at 9 a.m. and the awards cremony slated for 10 a.m. To register, visit bit.ly/mcbhmomrun.

The 3 East renovation will create 12 patient rooms, a family lounge, a multipurpose room for physical therapy and a conference room for staff education.

“We do need the beds,” said Parniawski. “The focus is going to be age-friendly for our older population.”

According to Parniawski, the design includes simple and easily readable signage, high-quality lighting, non-slip flooring, contrasting colors and furniture patterns for improved perception, steady furniture, spacious, clear walkways and rooms, hand railings on both sides of hallways and bed heights appropriate for older persons.

“The renovation was planned before the pandemic, and we had hoped to get it underway by now,” said Cappiello.

The 5K Mother’s Day race is one of many fundraisers planned to fund the renovations, but Parniawski said the 5K race is a legacy event for the Milford Campus.

“It was something they had done when they were at Milford Hospital, and it has always been a very successful event,” she said. “It’s a beautiful run along Long Island Sound that starts at the Milford Campus, goes down the road and by the water.”