GRMC construction continues on schedule News Staff Fri, 02/23/2024 - 10:22 am
- (TC GORDON | THE GRAHAM LEADER) The west side of Graham Regional Medical Center has expanded to feature a new 4,000 square foot addition to provide more space for clinics and patient care.
- (TC GORDON | THE GRAHAM LEADER) The ambulance bay at Graham Regional Medical Center is the item nearest to completion in GRMC’s major construction project. The hospital board expects the bay to be operational within the next month.
TC Gordon news@grahamleader.com
Construction progress continues at Graham Regional Medical Center as it works toward an August project completion date.
GRMC CEO Shane Kernell provided another update on the construction progress during the hospital board’s meeting Thursday, Feb. 22.
As part of his monthly CEO report, Kernell shared that the project remains on schedule and that the major work is on track to be completed by August. Certain aspects of the overall project may be done and usable sooner, but the major scope of the project will be finished in approximately the next six months.
“You can start seeing some things coming down the line that will start happening in the next four or five months pretty quickly,” Kernell said. “I think we're still on track (for) August to be done with all of that. There'll be one last little thing we've got to do toward the end for our phlebotomy draw station, that will be September, October timeline to get that completed. But that's a very small part so we're looking good.”
The outside work on the buildings is nearing completion with a lot of inside work still to be done.
The ambulance bay, which was hoped to be ready by November of last year, had some hold-ups which prevented it from being completed. But those issues should get resolved within the next month so the bay can be put to use, according to Kernell.
Doctors, surgeons and clinics have been moved around inside the building due to the construction and redesigning of certain areas. The shuffling around has not impacted the hospital’s ability to treat patients and things should continue uninterrupted even with more movement once interior work is completed.
“The areas where (Dr.) Hay’s clinic and (Dr.) Vaughan’s clinic were in the back had been completely gutted to the brick,” Kernell said. “It's just a big shell space, but it's been connected to... that 4,000 square foot new addition, which has been plumbed, electric has been drawn and it's been sheetrocked, bedded and taped, everything's good there.
“...When their clinic space is all built out and new, we'll move them back into that and finish that part up and then move our inpatient swing bed and everything back into it.”
In addition to adding more space for surgeries and other procedures, one of the major points of the project is to provide more rooms for inpatient and outpatient care.
The hospital used to use a portion of the building as a Women’s Center when GRMC offered child birth services beginning in 2009. That practice was discontinued in 2015 and that portion of the hospital has primarily been used as nothing more than storage ever since.
What used to be the Women’s Center will now transition to be the primary space for inpatient services. Next to the inpatient unit will be the surgical services which are also expanding to allow more opportunities for surgeries at the hospital.
A long hallway will connect the new inpatient unit to the surgical unit and the other side of the hospital, which is currently used as the front of the hospital where the lobby and waiting area reside. This change to the format of where the different units are located inside will help to improve the flow of services and make things easier for visitors and patients.
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