Work Continues on New Hospital
Progress continues on the construction project at Memorial Hospital. Big Red Fencing & Landscaping and Boyd Excavating, Inc., both of Abilene, are constructing the retaining wall that will border the new visitors’ parking lot. A stretch of dry weather is needed to prepare for scheduled concrete work.
Making Progress
Can you see the outline of the new hospital building? The contractors have taken advantage of this warm, dry winter to make progress on the building project. Dirt has been hauled in, compacted, and leveled to prepare for the new building’s foundation.
Need Help Getting Around the Hospital?
Last week a hospital visitor expressed concern about getting her family member to the lab. With Memorial Hospital’s new main entrance, the trek to our outpatient services area is a bit longer than it was before. If you or someone you love has trouble walking certain distances, there are a few options.
There are two wheelchairs available for patients and visitors to use when entering the hospital. One is located near the new main entrance and the other is located near the former main entrance. You may park in the patient parking area, come in, grab a wheelchair, and bring it out to your loved one in the parking lot. If you cannot walk far and have nobody to assist you, you may call 263-2100. We will be happy to have a staff member meet and assist you.
If there is not a wheelchair available or if you need additional assistance with a wheelchair, there is a black phone available on the left wall inside the new main entrance. Pick up the receiver and dial “0” to ask for assistance or call 263-2100 if you need assistance before entering the building. Tell a staff member that you will need a wheelchair.
We have increased our signage to make people more aware that these resources are available. We are grateful when people bring these concerns to our attention so we can best serve our patients and visitors. The construction project has been a learning process for us and we are appreciative of any feedback.
Have any other feedback? Click “Leave a Comment.”
What Are The Benefits?
Here are some bullet points briefly describing benefits of Memorial Hospital’s construction and renovation project. A person who commented on this blog asked us to provide this information. We hope it is helpful to anyone seeking information. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment or reply.
The Memorial Hospital construction and renovation project will:
- Create Needed Space For Departments, such as:
- Radiology
- Ceiling height is unavailable for future equipment needs
- Inpatient Rooms
- For private, handicap-accessible bathrooms
- Emergency Room
- No longer share space with outpatient clinics
- Operating Room
- Ceiling height is unavailable for future equipment needs
- Physician Clinics
- Physicians require at least 3 exam rooms each to adequately handle patient flow
- Radiology
- Meet Privacy Requirements
- Keep Emergency Department and Outpatient Services separate
- Inpatient Rooms: Install private bathrooms
- Meet American Disabilities Act Requirements
- Install wheelchair accessible bathrooms for inpatient rooms
- Have clinical areas on one floor in new building; have rehabilitation and physician clinic on main floor of renovated hospital
- Update facility
- New plumbing and new electrical
- New heating & cooling systems
- Most systems in use currently are dated to 1922
- Benefit Physician Recruitment
- Modern facility for doctors to work in
- Physicians employed by MHS do not have to purchase their own clinic to practice in
- More physician office and exam room space
Parking Update
Effective January 17, the four patient/visitor parking stalls immediately south of the Maintenance Building (shown above, at left) behind the hospital will be blocked off while contractors dig a trench and lay a pipeline. The four parking stalls may be unavailable for about a week. The adjacent alleyway will remain open for traffic to drive through. All are encouraged to use caution when driving through this area and be alert for workers.
MHS thanks everyone for their patience during this construction process. Do you have any questions? Click “Leave a Comment” on the top left side of this post to ask a question and we will respond to you!
What Will It Look Like?
What will the new Memorial Hospital look like? We recently received a comment on this blog asking for photos of what the new hospital building will look like from the outside and a basic inside floor plan of the new building. The following artist’s rendering is a view of how the new hospital building will appear from the south:
This will be the new main entrance to Memorial Hospital. The gray building on the left side of the photo is the current hospital building, which will be connected to the new building. Our current hospital will be renovated to include space for physician clinics, MHS Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine, and hospital support departments.
The following photo is the floor plan of both the existing hospital, which will be renovated, and the new hospital building. If you click on it, you will have the option to zoom in and out. (If you are having trouble, click on “View” in your web browser’s menu):
Everything that will be in the new hospital building is shown here, since the new building will have one level. The current building has four floors and a basement. Just the main floor is shown in this floor plan. The other floors will have administrative and support departments, such as Memorial Hospital Health Information Management (medical records), administrative offices, respiratory care, etc. Most non-clinical departments will either remain where they are in the current building or move to a different area of the building. MHS Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine will move to the main level of the current hospital, and Memorial Hospital’s ROSE Unit for Geriatric Behavioral Health will continue to operate on the third floor of the current hospital building.
The person who commented also asked for a list of bullet points about the benefits of this project. This will be the topic of a future post.
Do you have any questions? Feel free to leave a comment.
Temporary No Parking Zone Near NE 10th and Brown
As you drive toward Memorial Hospital, you may notice that the North side of 10th Street from Brown Street to the first driveway has been painted yellow for a “No Parking” zone. This area is along the side of Dr. Luty’s office building. As of Monday, December 19, this no parking area will accomodate emergency helicopter landings while a new helipad is being put in. Hospital staff, hospital visitors, and hospital outpatients are asked to NOT park in the parking areas of surrounding doctors’ offices. Memorial Hospital apologizes for any inconvenience. Thank you for your cooperation.
Navigating the Maze
The hospital’s new public entrance is presenting challenges for visitors and outpatients trying to find their way through the maze of unfamiliar hallways. We have updated our directory signage and have added color coded arrows to assist anyone who needs directions.
The color coded arrows are as follows:
- GREEN arrows direct the way IN from the main entrance to registration.
- BLUE arrows direct the way OUT from Registration & ER to the main entrance/exit
- YELLOW arrows direct the way from the main entrance to the PAIN CLINIC
If you have any additional questions or find yourself getting lost, please let a hospital employee know. We are happy to assist you!
Memorial Hospital Visitor Parking Change
The building project for Abilene’s Memorial Hospital has begun, and changes in the hospital’s main entrance and parking are effective December 12. Hospital patients and visitors will be directed to park on the north side of the hospital building during the construction project. The current parking lot and main entrance at the front of the hospital building will be closed on December 12.
Traffic approaching the hospital from the west on 10th street will turn left on Brown Street and take the first right turn into the parking lot behind the hospital building. This parking lot will be designated patient and visitor parking. Traffic arriving on Brady Street will turn into the farthest north hospital parking lot entrance and drive west through that parking area to access the patient and visitor parking lot adjacent to the new main entrance. Please watch for signs. The emergency entrance and parking are not changing.
Memorial Health System apologizes for any inconvenience during the hospital construction period. The plans are for the new access road to be opened in the spring as soon as asphalt can be laid.
Hospital Building Project Groundbreaking Ceremony
Several MHS employees and volunteers were present for the Groundbreaking Ceremony, in addition to community members. Shown front row, left to right, are: Teresa Hudson, Elaine Walters, Phyllis Welton, Michelle McClanahan, Lisa Wright, Jim Barten, Beth Kiser, Janet Hedden, and Carol Ross. Back row: Marcel Shoemaker, Jeff Sanborn, Stacey Berndt, Carol Landis, Judy Himburg, Michelle Ward, Gale Whitehair, Lindsey Brummer, and Paula Dinkel.
Memorial Health System hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for the Memorial Hospital building project on November 21. The new building will have space for clinical departments and the current hospital building will be renovated for physician office space and support departments.
Special guest Lietenant Colonel Michael D. Henderson gave a history of Memorial Hospital, noting that it was built as a tribute to those who died in World War I.
“World War I saw many advances in the medical field. It was the first war where deaths from battle injury outnumbered deaths from disease,” he said. “Memorial Hospital has made changes to keep up and meet the needs of its community. Now it is time to make changes again to continue to serve the community.”
President of the MHS Board of Directors Kent Wyatt spoke about the efforts of MHS Board Members, past and present, to make the building project a reality.
“A lot of careful deliberation and effort have gone into this project. Health care needs are changing. We need space, privacy for our patients, and to recruit physicians as we continue to provide care in the 21st century.”
MHS CEO Mark Miller thanked community members and MHS employees for their support.
