GRMC in final stretch of construction project

GRMC in final stretch of construction project News Staff Fri, 06/28/2024 - 3:20 pm

• (TC GORDON | THE GRAHAM LEADER) A view of new clinical space that has been added as part of a 4,000 square foot addition to the Graham Regional Medical Center building.
• (TC GORDON | THE GRAHAM LEADER) These are two of the new private admission booths as part of renovations to the Graham Regional Medical Center. This view is from the employees’ perspective, as the patient side has its own enclosed area for privacy.
• (TC GORDON | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Graham Regional Medical Center has two new ambulance bays which are connected closer to the emergency room. The bays have been completed and are currently in use.

TC Gordon news@grahamleader.com

Graham Regional Medical Center has undergone a massive construction project over the past year and CEO Shane Kernell recently gave an update on the progress which should be completed in the next few months.

Construction has involved multiple phases with some nearing completion sooner than others. The first phase of the project and one that is completed and operational is the new ambulance bays. The new admissions area will likely be completed in three weeks, with other phases seeing completion and full usage by the end of September and October.

There are two primary bays for ambulances connected to the emergency rooms. One of the additions to the bays included a special hazardous materials decontamination room.

“So someone comes in with a chemical spill or whatever, they used to– we've had a garden hose and we would hose them down out here, whatever time of year,” Kernell said. “Now we’ve got a special room for it, you can hose them down, (the room’s) all water tight and then you could wheel them to the ER.”

The second phase was to address the entrance to the hospital, specifically with regards to patient workflow and privacy at the admission desks of both the regular entrance and emergency room entrance.

“We've always wanted to address the patient workflow when they walked into the hospital and came here for whatever, lab test, imaging test,” Kernell said. “...We wanted to build something that was a lot more patient-friendly and private, and also better for our people working.”

The main entrance, as well as the ER entrance, will direct people to admission rooms which are closed off, wheelchair accessible and provide a more private setting. On the workers’ side, the booths open into a common area, so employees can move around easier and assist in other areas, if needed.

The third phase of construction involves converting the former Women’s Center into the primary space for inpatient service. The hospital used a portion of the building as a Women’s Center when GRMC offered labor and delivery services beginning in 2009. That practice was discontinued in 2015, and that portion of the hospital was primarily used as storage.

The hospital is creating a pathway that will connect the front of the hospital more directly to the inpatient services at the back, where previously, one needed to follow a winding route through the hospital to get there.

Part of the passageway project is also to build a new clinic space. The hospital has added about 4,000 square feet of space to the building where the new clinics will go. Dr. Michael Hay and Dr. Steven Vaughan will be able to move into the new clinic space, which will be connected, allowing them to assist with overflow space on either side, if necessary.

Phase four of the construction project was to renovate the Women’s Center rooms to be better suited for inpatient service. Where inpatient currently resides in the hospital is one of the oldest parts of the building and has with outdated architecture.

“Every single one of our nine bathrooms (in the old Women's Center) was built for OB patients. They all had jacuzzi tubs. Some had jacuzzi tubs and a separate shower, it wasn’t ADA standard for our patients,” Kernell said. “These rooms needed a lot of updating, so they pretty much gutted them down, painted them. They couldn't just go in and gut a jacuzzi tub. They had to tear the walls down and completely gut them.”

The fifth phase is the smallest one and will likely be completed last. The old nurse's station in the hospital will be converted into a phlebotomy draw station.

Kernell said construction is coming along well and that the construction company, architect and he have meetings every two weeks to discuss the progress. The hospital CEO also said he gets briefed at least once a day, if not twice, on the work from the construction supervisor.

During this time of construction, the hospital has continued to provide uninterrupted medical service.

The total cost of the project is $5 million and is being funded with donations and cash reserves, something the hospital said will incur no additional debt or tax.

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