Vic Lee – Introductions
Groundbreaking ceremony.
Welcome to the Boone County Health Center blog on the progress of our current building project that we refer to as Phase III. This blog will provide information on the current status of the progress being made towards the completion of the project and will give you the opportunity to provide comments or ask questions about the project.
All of our recent building projects have been the result of trying to do the best job in meeting the needs of the patients, their families and visitors. We have always tried to accomplish this goal using staff input to develop cost effective and efficient methods.
Phase III consists of a new wing (approximately 1,800 sq. ft) that adjoins the facility on the east side and runs 171 feet to the alley. Once the total project is completed, 25 private rooms will be available for our patients. The main floor will consist of 14 new patient rooms. As a result of patient and staff comments about our current rooms, the new rooms will be much larger with bathrooms that will easily accommodate patients who need assistance from staff. Two of the 14 rooms will be labor and delivery rooms (LDRP’s). We have seen the number of births at the Health Center gradually increase over the past 10 years. By December of this year, over 100 babies will have been born during 2009. Because of the need for more equipment during a delivery, as well as staff and family, the new LDRP’s will also be larger than the current ones.
Another aspect of the new patient wing that will address patient and family needs is the inclusion of a special care room. The special care room will be used to care for patients during their terminal phase. The room will be large enough for family members to be present and to have an area to be together during this important period of their loved one’s life. It will be located at the end of the hallway to give the patient and their family a quiet area. A treatment room will also be included in the new patient wing. This room will be used to administer chemo therapy, outpatient IV therapy as well as other outpatient services for our patients.
The new patient wing will have a nearly full basement under it. This area will contain central supply, health information management, scanners as well as an area for clean and soiled linen. The current central supply department is located in a remodeled garage across the street from the hospital. Hauling supplies across the street has caused some problems. This is especially so during the winter months when the streets are snow packed or during other types of inclement weather. Supplies will be unloaded at a new loading dock located on the south side of the new wing on Fuller Street.
The Health Center is working towards a fully electronic medical record for the hospital and its clinics. The department of health information management will soon not have a need for storage of the paper medical records. Instead, we have employees who scan the paper records and digitize them to electronic records. These two services will be located next to one another in the new basement.
The project began during the week of June 29th. The parking lot gained a new entrance and exit off of Fairview Street and was restriped to maximize the number of cars that will be able to park on the lot. In addition, the helicopter pad is temporarily located just east of the hospital on the old Seventh Street entrance to the campus. The existing ambulance garage was torn down to facilitate a new one. The new one will have doors that are four feet wider and at an angle to make it easier for the local squads to drive into and back out of the garage. Finally, a larger sewer line was installed by Beckenhauer Construction along Fuller Street and at the intersection of Fairview and Sixth Street. The Fairview and Sixth Street intersection should be reopened by August 20th.
Phase III is projected to take 13 months to complete. Once it is finished, contractors will renovate the current patient rooms to make them private rooms. The cost of the total project is $5,770,772. The funds to pay for the project will be taken from operations and no tax payer money is being used. The Health Center is currently debt free and plans on remaining so.
We are a couple of days behind of schedule because of the welcomed rains. However, the contractors feel that time can be made up once the steel is erected. The important goal is to have the walls and roof completed by the first week in November.
If it wasn’t for the continued support of the people of use our facilities and services and the tremendous staff we have to provide them, these projects wouldn’t be possible. For this I want to say THANK YOU. I hope this blog is frequently viewed and any questions that you may have are welcomed. Please visit this website again soon for continued updates.
Victor Lee
President/CEO