Licking Memorial Hospital Expands Horizons
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Change is the order of the day at Licking Memorial Hospital, where new services, a revamped interior and additions to off-site facilities highlight a multilevel plan to improve services.
Much of the physical work involved the John & Mary Alford Pavilion, which opened in 2007 and contains the emergency department and surgical suites. The hospital’s cafeteria was overhauled at the same time, which then led into a renovation project in 2008 that included adding more private rooms and other physical changes designed to streamline services.
At the same time, new technology was brought online, much of it located in the new Women’s Imaging Center, a full-service facility offering mammography, ultrasound, stereotactic biopsy and bone density testing. Other areas that have seen physical and equipment upgrades include the radiology department and coronary care unit, which received six new patient rooms in anticipation of higher traffic due to enhanced interventional cardiology procedure capability. The intensive care unit also received a couple of new rooms, while the hospital’s labs are getting what they need to ramp up molecular testing procedures.
All told, it’s a top-to-bottom overhaul, and one that will position the hospital and the system to care for needs now and in the future, says Rob Montagnese, president and CEO.
“We’re always looking to improve our facilities, make them more amenable to taking care of our patients in a better fashion,” Montagnese says. “Building on our high standards of care and patient safety is how we decide when and how we allocate our capital dollars.”
At more than $40 million, the Alford Pavilion has served as a springboard for further enhancements within the hospital, which in turn will lead to future projects as the need arises and funds are available. It’s that kind of rolling system that allows the facility to be nimble with its costs while still adding the newest and best in terms of technology, Montagnese says.
“We are always interested in providing new technology, and we think that the molecular lab really highlights that,” he says. “This will let us get results back more quickly, which in turn will allow the caregiver to have more information available sooner, which will lead to better quality care.”
There’s plenty of movement off-campus as well, as the 20,000-square-foot Licking Memorial Health Campus – Pataskala facility, which currently houses five physicians, is being expanded to hold more office space and more specialists to meet the needs of for residents in western Licking County. The building also will be the site of a new urgent-care facility in mid-2009.
“It’s an exciting time for us,” Montagnese says. “Our commitment is to continue providing the needed services and the latest technology to our community, and we have to balance the available capital with those needs. But we feel it’s important to make these services available, and so we work to do that.”
Story by Joe Morris
