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Renovated hospital
As construction work on the new Intensive Care Unit continues behind her, Charlene Mehlhaff answers phone calls at the escort desk at Mercy Medical Center in December 2004.
Mercy Medical Center's $40 million expansion project continues to move at full steam.
The addition of 90,000 square feet to the existing 100,000-square-foot building is expected to bring an improved, efficient hospital, with up-to-date technology and equipment.
"We think this construction will serve the community for the next 20 years," said Victor Fresolone, Mercy's president and chief executive officer.
This is the first major expansion at Mercy since it moved to Stewart Parkway and opened there in February 1977. It will bump the capacity of the hospital to 175 beds, and the emergency room will be able to accommodate double the number of patients.
The project will also include remodeling 75,000 square feet of the existing facility, Fresolone said. He believes that more space and more efficient machines result in better health care and increased public satisfaction.
With more space and more services available, Douglas County residents can stay here to get treatment.
<b>THE BEGINNING OF A CHALLENGE</b>
Tony Haber, Mercy's project manager, said the construction will happen step by step, and "one area will be finished first, we'll move people over to the new place, while the building in the old area starts."
Mercy's expansion project started roughly in 1998, with a community assessment, evaluating future changes in population demographics and needs. At the time, Mercy was undergoing a $17 million remodeling project, to add the south portion of the existing building with a new pharmacy, laboratory and health center to the hospital.
The assessment still revealed a need for more inpatient beds in the community, said Kathleen Nickel, Mercy's communications director.
When Douglas Community Hospital in Roseburg closed in February 2000, the need for a larger hospital became more apparent, and the current expansion project plans were adapted to absorb that extra load, she said.
"Douglas was one factor of many in the project planning. ... But it (the expansion) would still be happening," even if Douglas didn't close, Nickel said.
Groundbreaking took place on June 25, 2003. A St. Louis-based construction company, Hospital Building and Equipment, is leading the project, overseeing the work of local subcontractors.
The addition of 90,000 square feet to the existing 100,000-square-foot building is expected to bring an improved, efficient hospital, with up-to-date technology and equipment.
"We think this construction will serve the community for the next 20 years," said Victor Fresolone, Mercy's president and chief executive officer.
This is the first major expansion at Mercy since it moved to Stewart Parkway and opened there in February 1977. It will bump the capacity of the hospital to 175 beds, and the emergency room will be able to accommodate double the number of patients.
The project will also include remodeling 75,000 square feet of the existing facility, Fresolone said. He believes that more space and more efficient machines result in better health care and increased public satisfaction.
With more space and more services available, Douglas County residents can stay here to get treatment.
<b>THE BEGINNING OF A CHALLENGE</b>
Tony Haber, Mercy's project manager, said the construction will happen step by step, and "one area will be finished first, we'll move people over to the new place, while the building in the old area starts."
Mercy's expansion project started roughly in 1998, with a community assessment, evaluating future changes in population demographics and needs. At the time, Mercy was undergoing a $17 million remodeling project, to add the south portion of the existing building with a new pharmacy, laboratory and health center to the hospital.
The assessment still revealed a need for more inpatient beds in the community, said Kathleen Nickel, Mercy's communications director.
When Douglas Community Hospital in Roseburg closed in February 2000, the need for a larger hospital became more apparent, and the current expansion project plans were adapted to absorb that extra load, she said.
"Douglas was one factor of many in the project planning. ... But it (the expansion) would still be happening," even if Douglas didn't close, Nickel said.
Groundbreaking took place on June 25, 2003. A St. Louis-based construction company, Hospital Building and Equipment, is leading the project, overseeing the work of local subcontractors.
The intensive care unit and medical records departments are expected to be the first completed and should open in March. The ICU is getting four new beds, bringing the total to 16. The medical records area will temporarily house the hospital's administration, which currently has offices spread around Roseburg, Haber said.
In addition, the Emergency Department is increasing from 18 beds to 26, and progressive care is going from 6 to 16 beds. Mercy's Sleep Lab will get three additional beds bringing the total to five. By May 2006, the hospital will have a total of 175 beds, plus an expanded and remodeled Imaging Services Department, larger operating rooms, inpatient rooms with individual showers, and a brand new Family Birth Center with a birthing pool, Haber said.
In addition to more space, Mercy will also expand its services and the recruitment of new doctors.
The ICU will have new equipment with better monitoring abilities; the 16 PCU beds and the 24 beds on the medical/surgical floor of the hospital will be cardiac-monitored beds; Mercy's Imaging Department will add new X-ray equipment and a new 64-slice CT scan, capable of imaging the heart; two new digital mammography machines will be added to the Mercy Outpatient Department on Harvard Avenue. Three new triple-board certified doctors have been added to the ICU.
The project has been financed with $13.25 million from Mercy's savings and future revenue, plus $1.25 million from community contributions. However, most of the funds for the project -- around $25 million -- come from tax-exempt bonds sold on the open market. Fresolone explained the money borrowed works like a home mortgage, and over time, Mercy will have to pay it off.
He said the bond money was allocated specifically for the expansion and is restricted to the project.
<b>A CASE OF EMERGENCY</b>
For some Douglas County residents, changes in Mercy's Emergency Department may cause the greatest impact.
According to the hospital's data, emergency visits have increased more than 50 percent in the last five years, reaching a record of 45,000 visits in the 2004 fiscal year. The existing department was built to accommodate 25,000 patient visits a year. It doesn't have the space and beds to accommodate the sudden rise of emergency services demand.
"Mercy has become the safety net for the community," Fresolone said.
He said Mercy has seen an increasing number of uninsured patients who use the emergency room as their primary source of health care. That causes great financial strain to the hospital, because Mercy ends up covering medical expenses of uninsured patients, he explained. The hospital's charity care has increased to $18 million this year, doubling the $9 million absorbed last year.
Mercy's officials also believe that people who don't understand the nature of health emergencies have been overcrowding the ER.
"So many people use the emergency room that don't need to be there," Nickel said.
Going to the emergency room is "an expensive way to get health care," said nurse Brian Horton, director of the Emergency Department. It can cost patients at least $300 just to be there, he said.
"We need to educate people, (and people) need to think ahead. They should not wait until there is an emergency ... prevention is less expensive," Horton said.
Fresolone said Mercy will serve all patients, but space is at a premium -- and it will continue to be until the expansion is over.
A temporary 16-bed modular unit has been added to the department as a short-term solution to the current situation. Still, patients often wait hours to see a doctor.
The expanded ER should be finished by April, Haber said.
Between the expansion of the main hospital, the doubling of the emergency department and the technological advances, Mercy's officials are optimistic about the changes.
"When we're done, we'll be technologically a state-of-the-art hospital," Nickel said.
* You can reach reporter Juliana Renno at 957-4230 or by e-mail at jrenno@newsreview.info. This story originally appeared in somewhat different form in November 2004.
In addition, the Emergency Department is increasing from 18 beds to 26, and progressive care is going from 6 to 16 beds. Mercy's Sleep Lab will get three additional beds bringing the total to five. By May 2006, the hospital will have a total of 175 beds, plus an expanded and remodeled Imaging Services Department, larger operating rooms, inpatient rooms with individual showers, and a brand new Family Birth Center with a birthing pool, Haber said.
In addition to more space, Mercy will also expand its services and the recruitment of new doctors.
The ICU will have new equipment with better monitoring abilities; the 16 PCU beds and the 24 beds on the medical/surgical floor of the hospital will be cardiac-monitored beds; Mercy's Imaging Department will add new X-ray equipment and a new 64-slice CT scan, capable of imaging the heart; two new digital mammography machines will be added to the Mercy Outpatient Department on Harvard Avenue. Three new triple-board certified doctors have been added to the ICU.
The project has been financed with $13.25 million from Mercy's savings and future revenue, plus $1.25 million from community contributions. However, most of the funds for the project -- around $25 million -- come from tax-exempt bonds sold on the open market. Fresolone explained the money borrowed works like a home mortgage, and over time, Mercy will have to pay it off.
He said the bond money was allocated specifically for the expansion and is restricted to the project.
<b>A CASE OF EMERGENCY</b>
For some Douglas County residents, changes in Mercy's Emergency Department may cause the greatest impact.
According to the hospital's data, emergency visits have increased more than 50 percent in the last five years, reaching a record of 45,000 visits in the 2004 fiscal year. The existing department was built to accommodate 25,000 patient visits a year. It doesn't have the space and beds to accommodate the sudden rise of emergency services demand.
"Mercy has become the safety net for the community," Fresolone said.
He said Mercy has seen an increasing number of uninsured patients who use the emergency room as their primary source of health care. That causes great financial strain to the hospital, because Mercy ends up covering medical expenses of uninsured patients, he explained. The hospital's charity care has increased to $18 million this year, doubling the $9 million absorbed last year.
Mercy's officials also believe that people who don't understand the nature of health emergencies have been overcrowding the ER.
"So many people use the emergency room that don't need to be there," Nickel said.
Going to the emergency room is "an expensive way to get health care," said nurse Brian Horton, director of the Emergency Department. It can cost patients at least $300 just to be there, he said.
"We need to educate people, (and people) need to think ahead. They should not wait until there is an emergency ... prevention is less expensive," Horton said.
Fresolone said Mercy will serve all patients, but space is at a premium -- and it will continue to be until the expansion is over.
A temporary 16-bed modular unit has been added to the department as a short-term solution to the current situation. Still, patients often wait hours to see a doctor.
The expanded ER should be finished by April, Haber said.
Between the expansion of the main hospital, the doubling of the emergency department and the technological advances, Mercy's officials are optimistic about the changes.
"When we're done, we'll be technologically a state-of-the-art hospital," Nickel said.
* You can reach reporter Juliana Renno at 957-4230 or by e-mail at jrenno@newsreview.info. This story originally appeared in somewhat different form in November 2004.
Project highlights
<b>SOME HIGHLIGHTS OF MERCY’S EXPANSION PROJECT</b>
• The hospital’s emergency department will have an additional 6,400 square feet — double the size of the existing space. The capacity of patient visits per year will go from 25,000 to 55,000. There will also be eight new beds, bringing the total to 26. • The hospital will get brand new, 4,400-square-feet Intensive and Critical Care Units, both consolidated in one floor. The number of beds will increase from 12 to 16 total. • The Imaging Services Department in the hospital building will get an additional 6,500 square feet. There will be two new X-ray rooms bringing the total to five, and a new CT scan, adding up to two machines. • The existing operating rooms will also be remodeled to fit all the new technology and equipment. The total addition will be 2,100 square feet, and patient rooms will have individual showers. • The total cost of the project is approximately $40 million. The construction itself will cost $25 million, and the addition of new technology and equipment is estimated at $14.5 million. Also, when the project is finished, visitors will have a different entrance from the inpatient/outpatient entrance. The hospital officials said the changes in the entrance will start some time between February and March. |
