A Tour of the New Owensboro Medical Health System Hospital

Construction on the new Owensboro Medical Health Systems hospital is in full swing. One only has to drive near the location on Daniels Lane off Hwy 60 East to see the massive structure rise over the surrounding property. Is is the largest undertaking ever in this area. Today I had the opportunity to tour the new facility. I declined. (Just kidding, I wanted to see if you really read this far.)

Early Friday morning Co. Judge Al Mattingly, Fred Bosley, George Hulse and I met hospital construction committee chair G. Ted Smith at the construction site.

After a formal briefing in the construction main office we put on safety glasses, bright yellow vests and hard hats to be escorted to the hospital by Joe Taylor, head of facilities.

Joe told us about the changes that are taking place in health care and how the new hospital is addressing those changes. Everything from seperate elevators for patients and linens, old dressings and medical waste to time and step saver designs in the patient rooms was discussed. We also learned about how computer generated 3-d models of the building is cutting down on construction costs and proplems. "When everyone is on the same page and can see the same layout on the computer we can plan the construction elements together and be much more efficent. It also helps later when maintence crews have to locate certain plumbing, heat and air ducts and electricity.  Our commitment here is not to land development but to providing the best in medical care for the patients", he said.

As a group we took a service elevator to the top of the building. From the 10th floor roof you could see most of Owensboro and a big part of the East County. The old hospital, the Summit Country Club and Gabes Tower were easy to locate. On the other side you could see the OMU generating plant and the Ohio River.

Speaking of the generating plant, the new hospital has the ability to go in to "island mode" should a natural disaster strike. With the power of 45 KW of power from the 3 big generators the hospital building will has the ability to be self sufficient for at least 96 hours before the fuel tanks will need to be refilled.

A womans pavillion, considerations for large sized patients (I don't know what the politically correct term today) and children  are among the many topics addressed by the designers and builders.

Another great thing about the hospital is the use of local companies to help build the facility. I have posted photos of trucks from some of the local businesses who are working on the hopsital. The dry-wall and landscaping are being installed locally as well.

We walked down the 10 floors stopping every so often to see various stages of work and view certain areas under construction. One thing that struck me was the cleanliness of the construction site. The contractors are using a , start at the top and work your way down, method of construction with all clutter and trash being brought down from above. This cuts down on clutter and keeps the workplace safer for workers. It also saves dollars.

Take a look at the photos and see for yourself what this new and exciting addition to our health system is going to look like.

On Friday July 8, Joe Taylor will be on 1490 WOMI to talk about the construction process. The show will air from 8:10-8:30am.