Elk Regional Health Center will soon embark upon a $10 million building and expansion project that will dramatically modernize the hospital.
Elk Regional’s last building project took place in 2001, when new Emergency and Radiology departments were constructed, along with new operating rooms, recovery areas and additional outpatient surgery suites. That expansion did not include modern patient rooms, an updated OB/GYN and maternity unit or a Generations Unit – even though hospital administrators identified these as critical needs at the time. Instead, administrators designed the 2001 addition to be easily expanded with a third floor when the time came. They say that time has arrived.
Elk Regional’s modernization and expansion project will update rooms that are currently housed in buildings constructed in 1941 and 1958. Existing rooms are small and cramped and offer little privacy for patients and their families. Only a few of the hospital’s current patient rooms include private bathrooms. For the majority of our patients, adjoining bathrooms are shared by as many as four patients. The existing wings have poor ventilation and lighting, long hallways and cramped nurse stations.
“This expansion and modernization project is so important,” said Don Fleming, a member of Elk Regional Health System’s Board of Directors. “It’s going to ensure that this hospital stays strong and healthy for the next generation. In my mind, that’s who this project is really for – our children and grandchildren. The time to do this is now.”
The new floor will house 41 new, private, spacious medical/surgical patient rooms, each with a private bathroom with close proximity to modern nurse work stations. It will also house a new, more secure 10-bed Generations Unit, which is Elk Regional’s geriatric behavioral health unit.
Elk Regional will also renovate a portion of its first floor near the operating suite and construct a new Family Unit there. The new unit will contain eight beds – four for OB/GYN patients and four for labor, delivery and recovery – along with a modern nurse station.
“A hospital stay can be a very trying and anxious time for both the patient and their families,” said Neil Hoffman, the past chairman of the Elk Regional Health System Board of Directors. “This new expansion will provide our patients and their families with a more welcoming environment during their hospital stay.”
The former medical/surgical wing will be converted into office space for Elk Regional’s administrative and support staff, a move that will condense administrative offices into the same portion of the hospital and increase their efficiency.
“This project is all about modernizing our hospital and ensuring that it remains viable for years to come,” said Gregory Bauer, the President and CEO of Elk Regional Health System. “Every decision we’ve made over the years has been made with this moment and this project in mind.”
Elk Regional Health System, which includes the Health Center, is a major driver of economic health in Elk and Cameron counties. A 2009 study showed the Health System has a $140.7 million economic impact to the region. The Health System supports $56.6 million in annual salaries and employs 1,424 people.
Economically, Elk Regional’s expansion and modernization project will create 40 short-term construction jobs, retain more than 100 full-time equivalent employees and recruit 15 new clinical positions within three years of completion.
“A strong, vibrant hospital is absolutely vital to the health of our community,” Bauer said. “This project will have tremendous impact in that regard and will ensure that we remain strong and vibrant.”
Dr. Joseph Salinas, President of Elk Regional Health Center’s medical staff, said the project will enhance the high-quality healthcare offered by Elk Regional.
“Elk Regional is everything a not-for-profit community hospital should be,” he said. “We offer our community the absolute best in medical care and we do it in a compassionate, patient-centered environment. This building and expansion project will afford Elk Regional’s medical staff a more modern, efficient facility in which to care for our family, friends and neighbors. I think the project is absolutely critical for the health and well being of those served by our hospital.”
Rob O’Leary, Chairman of the Elk Regional Health System Board of Directors, said the project will provide a glimpse of the future of healthcare in Elk and Cameron counties.
“I can think of no better way for Elk Regional to show its commitment to our community and to high quality health care than by completing this expansion and modernization project,” O’Leary said. “This project is the future. It’s the cornerstone for the next era of health care in Elk and Cameron counties.”
Construction is expected to begin late this fall or early next spring, Bauer said, and could be complete by the end of 2011.