Hospital one month away from opening new wings
by JESSICA L. FINCH Associate Editor
Suburban Hospital's new appearance is starting to take shape.

The original lobby will open today, streamlining visitors to the areas of the hospital they need. In a month, the new emergency department, recovery rooms and lab will start opening.

Once the transitions to the new departments and rooms have taken place, renovation to the old ones will begin.

To date, approximately 80 percent of the $64 million expansion is complete.

Completion of phase one was marked Oct. 9 by an official grand opening of the lobby, surgical waiting room and admissions department.

"When we are done it's going to be a brand new hospital, not just an addition," President Christopher Lane said.

While renovations are under way, the space available will be temporarily reduced, but upon completion, the emergency department will be more than two and a half times larger.

The second floor of the addition, built in front of the existing structure, is also on schedule for its June 2008 opening. Lane said the floor will add 68 new beds, a 30 percent increase.

Millard Fillmore also has added storage areas to eliminate the clutter of carts and equipment in the hallways.

"The old units are crowded. In the new ones everything will be tucked in," he said.

While the front of the new first floor is open, work is still being done in the surgical rooms. Lane said the current number of recovery rooms can't keep up with the number of surgeries, thus forcing the surgeons to "slow down," he said.

With the completion of the new wing, more recovery beds will be added, maintaining a flow to the procedure. While the new surgical rooms won't open until May or June, the new recovery rooms will start being used the week of Dec. 9.

The new expansion will also include a wall at the main entrance, blocking wind, rain and snow for patients and visitors.

Lane said as part of the hospital's strategic plan an expansion was needed to handle the increase in volume. The renovations to the older sections of Millard Fillmore were considered as an afterthought.