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| RACHEAL ALVSTAD / Scroll |
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| Adam Carey, 3, son of Calvin and Michelle Carey, takes his turn digging at the Madison Memorial Hospital expansion ground breaking. |
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More than 200 guests were present Tuesday, April 11, as Madison Memorial Hospital broke ground on a long-anticipated, 76,000 square-foot expansion project.
Speakers at the ceremony included Roger Muir, county commissioner; David V. Hansen, M.D., hospital chief of staff; Keith M. Steiner, hospital chief executive officer; and Marsha C. Bjornn, president of the Madison Memorial Hospital Board of Directors.
The speakers focused their attention on support from the community, pointing out the fact that $58 million in capital was raised within 90 minutes of the initial offering, with orders for more than $300 million in bonds.
“We have a great facility here. We have a great county and a great community,” Muir said. “We have the opportunity to expand Madison Memorial Hospital into a regional facility that’s identified with the entire area.”
Hansen said he was proud of the hospital’s financial stability. Steiner added that last year’s outlays came out to $37.2 million, but the generated revenue topped $49 million.
“This hospital has continually been a strong and economically viable county hospital, which is a rare event in our age today,” Hansen said.
The new expansion will hold major and ambulatory surgery facilities, the emergency department, radiology and clinical labs and a one-stop diagnosis center.
In addition to operating and examination rooms, the expansion will house private, family-friendly patient rooms and an intensive care unit and an expanded maternity center with a new neonatal intensive care unit.
Patient privacy is one of the main issues being addressed in the new design. A goal of the new expansion is to shelter patients from the public areas of the hospital.
“We know how important privacy really is, and the new design will assure that privacy,” Steiner said. “As patients, in the hallways that you walk up and down, you won’t be crossing, waving to everyone in your gown.”
Also under construction is 85,000 square feet of remodeled space, which will house a wellness center, complete with physical therapy, cardiac rehabilitation and education, and new staff and public cafeterias.
“When it’s all done, you’re going to enjoy — very much, I think — one of the finest hospitals and one of the most beautiful facilities in the state of Idaho,” Steiner said.
