One Year Later: New Hospital Taking Shape

Almost one year to the day I returned to the new Owensboro Daviess County Medical Health System to see what progress had been made in the last year. With the temperatures over 100 degrees I expected to sweat for most of the tour. I did not. I also expected to climb a ton of stairs. Again I was pleasantly surprised.

The air conditioning was on and the elevators were working. I was amazed.

The last time I toured the construction site it was barely a shell of a building. No walls, power, windows, just a steel structure what looked a bit like a huge skeleton. Today we saw patient rooms, waiting areas, a chapel and operating rooms.

We also got a glimpse of the new neo-natal unit. It has already been expanded from 12 to 20 beds based on regional needs.

The new facility features more than 30 rooms designed for "Larger Patients". These rooms feature bigger beds, chairs, bathrooms, etc for patients over 400 lbs. "We have a need in this area for these type rooms. With the special equipment such as built in lifts, we can move patients without the danger of staff getting hurt. The patients will also be more comfortable",  said one of the tour leaders.

The operating rooms are around 600 square feet, equal to the largest at the current location but with much more thought to layout and design. It is certainly designed to be functional so the best patient care can be delivered while maintaining a comfortable work environment for caregivers.

Labor and delivery is seperate from other areas of the hospital. Patients and staff have their own elevator banks. These are set far apart from the general public and visitors elevators to insure speed and comfort. This seperation of patients from the public helps hold down infection.

I took several photos and have posted a gallery for you to view. I also included toward the end of this post a photo of the building taken one year ago. It is easy to see the progress make in the last 365 days.

The tour today was far more detailed regarding health care. One year ago it was all construction. One thing is certain, when the new hospital opens in 2013 Owensboro will have one of the top 10 modern medical centers in the country.

Now that is something to be proud of.