New Digs for Patient Accounts

Patient Accounts staff shows off their new office space.

Work is finally finished in the new business office (patient accounts area). The spaces has been remodeled, brand new furniture installed and all the computers and wires are where they should be.

In addition to the office space, a new private room has been included for private financial counseling. The space is beautiful and functional. Congratulations!

Sustainability

Check out this link:

http://www.jjca.com/who-we-are/news/2011/10/24/sustainability/

New room in our Pharmacy

Area for compounding hazardous drugs, such as chemotherapy meds.

Area for mixing non hazardous compounds.

In the midst of all the other construction going on at CMH, we've also been building a state-of-the-art room for compounding (mixing) sterile products in the Pharmacy. This room will be used for creating things such as chemotherapy drugs, antibiotics, and other compounds given intravenously.

The temperature and humidity controlled room is a "clean" room, and so foot booties and protective garb must be worn. There is an automatic handwashing and drying machine as well. The room is divided into two parts - one for mixing hazardous medications, such as chemotherapy drugs, and the other is for non hazardous compounds. There is a cordless phone system, so the person working in the clean room can contact someone in the pharmacy if necessary, as well as a pass through, so the person working can receive supplies from outside the clean room or can give another staff member a finished compound. Construction in the room is very nearly finished, but like any hospital construction, it must be certified before the room can be used. Certification is expected in about four weeks.

Canopy

The canopy outside the East Entrance will soon be receiving a facelift! Crews will soon begin a partial demolition of the structure and will then rebuild it to match the canopies and facade of the new addition. It's going to be a beautiful addition to the East Entrance.

To protect patients during the demolition and construction, a wooden vestibule has been erected around the outside door. Signage will be posted very soon to further remind patients and visitors that the entrance is still open.

Stay tuned! We'll soon be posted ER and business office updates (with pictures!)

Pathways of Progress

Parkhurst Landscaping on Monday began installing the Pathways for Progress along the sidewalk in front of the Phase 2 addition. The pathway is an ongoing CM Foundation fundraiser. The bricks have been purchased by members of the community and engraved in tribute or in memory of loved ones. Businesses have engraved their logos on bricks. For more information, or to purchase a brick, please call CM Foundation at (618) 546.2671.

OR Update

Even as we prepare to celebrate the opening of our beautiful new addition, work is underway behind the scenes to plan future renovation projects!

The project consultation team on Monday finalized plans for the operating room renovation. The goal is to have three fully functional OR suites, allowing for more surgeries and more efficient use of the space, which is better for our doctors and our patients. The hospital's building and grounds committee will review this plan at its August 15th meeting and the full board will consider the matter at its August 17th meeting.

Meanwhile, work crews are furiously remodeling the former business office/patient accounts area. As you may recall, the old office will connect to the new addition, and will be much larger with areas for more private consultations. Work began here after the new addition opened and should be complete in a matter of weeks. In the interim, the business office staff has relocated to the former administrative office suite and the former marketing office.

Community Open House

CMH will host a community open house here at CMH from 4 to 6 p.m. on Thursday, July 21. We hope to see a big crowd!

Celebration

CMH Employees celebrated the opening of the hospital's new addition today with a cookout and self-guided tours. An enormous thank you to everyone who had lunch with us and spent a few minutes looking around the new wing. And to those who helped - thank you very, very much.

CMH online

Chris Forde, the news reporter from WTYE, spent about an hour with us on Thursday, creating a video tour of our new wing. Watch the video here.

Don't forget the employee open house and (free) cookout lunch on Thursday, 7 /14 and the community open house from 4-6 p.m. on Thursday, 7/21.

Moving continues

The big move to CMH's new addition continues this week. Medical Records is moving right now, with both our Cardiac Rehab/Pulmonary and Consulting Clinic beginning to move as well.

Meanwhile, Information Systems is getting a new home as well. They are moving from their cramped office to the former training room.

Open House

As moving continues, plans are already in the works for events to celebrate the opening of this beautiful new addition!

We will celebrate the opening with employees from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thursday, July 14, with a cookout and self-guided tours. The board, staff, volunteers and physicians are invited to stop by and walk through the new wing. Lunch will be from the grill, and will be cooked and served by the supervisors who have offices in this new area.

The public will be invited to help celebrate our new addition - along with our 50th anniversary - from 4-6 p.m. on Thursday, July 21. Finger foods will be served and tours will be available.

We hope to see all of you there.

MOVING DAY!

The Illinois Department of Public Health survey of our new addition was today and went very well. Admitting will move to its new space on Friday. The rest of the schedule will be developed on Monday.

Congratulations to every whose hard work made this possible.

Entrance change

Effective immediately: the Patient Services entrance (also known as the East Entrance) will be closed on Sundays. Visitors should use the visitors entrance (also known as the south entrance). Our apologies for the inconvenience.

On the way

Great news! The Illinois Department of Public health has notified us that they will be here some time during the week of June 6th to inspect the construction of Phase II. This inspection is required to obtain the certificate of occupancy. Once we have that certificate, moving can begin.

Please remember that until we have this certificate of occupancy, no one should be in the new wing without authorization. This is especially important as we prepare for the state inspector's visit.

ER Demolition Begins

Work has started on phase 3 of CMH's facility master plan - the renovation and expansion of the Emergency Room, Lab and Admitting areas. The nurse's station and the communication system have been removed and crews will begin taking out the telemetry later this week. It is expected that phase 3 could last 18 months.

Meanwhile, we are still awaiting word from the state as to when they will be making the site visit for phase 2. The site visit it necessary to obtain a certificate of occupancy.

New ER now open

The new Emergency Room at CMH is now open (as of noon yesterday). We have erected signs on the roads etc., to direct patients to the new entrance and several parking spaces in the former employee parking lot have been marked "reserved" for ER patients.

During this transition we ask all employees to please "walk" patients where they need to go, instead of just pointing. There are many detours for patients that can be extremely confusing for patients and families.

ER Move

ER Moving Day has been set! To allow for renovation of our existing emergency room, the hospital will relocate its ER to a different space within the hospital. Patients will begin receiving care in this new location on Wednesday, May 11.

The interim ER will be located on the north side of the hospital, near the helipad and employee parking lot. The emergency entrance for both walk-in and ambulance patients will be at this location. Special parking spaces will be designated for the public.

Renovations to the ER are expected to take about 18 months. When finished, the area will have more treatment areas, allowing for providers to care for more patients at any given time. The project will also enhance patient privacy and allow for better patient monitoring and safety.

Parking

In preparation for the temporary relocation of our ER, we're going to be making some changes in the employee parking lot to accommodate patients there.

Starting on Monday, may 2, staff of Robinson Rural Health will be parking in the north clinic parking lot on the first row along the road going to the Rehab building.
Hospital employees will then use the parking spaces behind the clinic. Weather permitting we will be marking the reserved patient parking spaces in the employee lot this weekend.

Thanks for your understanding and patience during this time.

Quick Updates

Just checking in for a couple quick updates today: A conference call is scheduled this week with our architects to discuss the operating room project. they will be reviewing changes to the design of the OR expansion. Our architects have been working on some design revisions and we're excited about seeing the changes!

Also wanted to mention that we have officially applied to the state for the occupancy permit for the new wing. No word yet on when they will be here for the on-site inspection - stay tuned!

A good sign

New signs are up! New lettering and logo has been added to the outside of the Outpatient Therapy Center, making the building clearly identifiable from the road.



Also on Wednesday, the interior guide signs were hung in the new wing. The signs have a contemporary style and look exceptional with the color scheme there.

Walk This Way

If you've been back by the employee time clock in the last few days, you know that work is progressing rapidly to transform that area into a temporary emergency room while our current ER undergoes an expansion. As we mentioned in our first post, when the ER moves to this area, the employee entrance will be relocated to the side door near Materials Management. Weather permitting, workers will soon begin building a sidewalk around HealthWorks for employee access. Of course, during ER construction, there will be some changes to the employee parking lot to accommodate our patients - and we'll let you know as soon as that's finalized. We ask for everyone's cooperation and understanding during this transition.

Meanwhile . . .




Demolition continues in Long Term Care. Next up will be rebuilding of those rooms. It's the final part of construction that will ready our unit for medicare patients.

When Will Phase 2 Open?

Now that construction of phase 2 has ended, this is the question on everyone's mind. Ours too! Work crews completed some final items earlier this week, and both exterior and interior signage will be posted in about a month. We expect to apply to the Illinois Department of Public Health this week to request our occupancy permit. It's likely the IDPH will be on-site in about 30 days to inspect the wing. After the visit, they have another 30 days (roughly) to issue the permit. No one can move into or use the space until the IDPH issues the occupancy permit.

Fun fact

There has been much discussion about the artwork hanging in phase 2, which is wonderful, because art should prompt conversation, thought and emotion. In addition to the beautiful works from local artists (selected by an art jury and then hung at the direction of our interior designer), we are fortunate to have some gorgeous prints in other hallways and office space. These works were selected by Heather Fullington, the project's interior designer. What's really interesting is that these pieces came from a company called American Art Resources. The company works exclusively with hospital and other healthcare organizations to - as their vision statement says - "improve the lives of patients, their families and care givers through healthcare art programs that are deisgned to be far more than decoration."

Long Term Care

As renovation of the East Wing progresses, you'll notice some chagnes to our Long Term Care Unit. Our crack maintentance team has relocated the nurses' station to the solarium (it will move back after work is complete), and a temporary wall has been set up creating a very short corridor that leads you into the unit. Signs have been posted to direct visitors to the nurses' station and to Medical Records. However, as construction in all areas moves forward, please remember to take "lost" patients and visitors to their destinations, not just point the way.

Emergency Room

Work progresses on the Emergency Room project, as well. The walls of the new patient bays have been primed and painted. More construction will be coming as we get closer to the ER renovation.

Finishing Touches

Phase 2 looks incredible! Today, a crew completed hanging the artwork in the new addition, which has really pulled an already stunning space together. The furniture has all been unloaded, unwrapped and placed. All that's left is going over the punch list with the architect, cleaning, and obtaining the final occupancy OK from the state.

Speaking of artwork, we are lucky enough to live in an area with a thriving art community. CMH tapped into that community and used some pieces from local artists in the more public areas of the hospital (lobby, cafeteria, main hallways, etc). The pieces were a beautiful and eclectic mix, and really added a local flair to the addition. We are so lucky these artists were willing to share their work with us and our patients.

Glad you stopped by!

Our new lobby!

Welcome to Crawford Memorial's construction blog! This is your source for the latest information on the many construction projects in progress at CMH.

We really want to know what you think but, unfortunately, we can't accept comments on the blog at this time. Please email your feedback to rebecca.ruppel@crawfordmh.org. When we can, we'll answer your questions and address your comments right here. Let us know how we're doing!

Phase 2
Hard to believe work on this expansion is nearly finished. In fact, furniture is arriving and being installed this week! We expect to notify the Illinois Department of Public Health in about three weeks and ask for an occupancy permit (as a general rule, they will have 30 days to make the site visit and then another 30 days to issue the permit, if approved. Of course, those time frames aren't guaranteed).

Emergency Room
Even as we finish up our project on phase 2, our hard-working maintenance crew is already beginning the preliminary work on phase 3! During the project's next phase, the emergency room and lab will be expanded and renovated. Before construction can begin, we have to move the ER out of its current location and into its temporary home in the formal special care unit. The maintenance crew is building in what used to be the locker area near the employee entrance. After that's complete, they'll build an admission area. The ER will move into its temporary home late this spring or early this summer.

Where will the employee entrance be while the ER is there? Our team is still working out the details, but right now it looks like the entrance will be moved to the side door between the existing ER and Materials Management. The time clocks will be moved there and a sidewalk will be built along the east side of HealthWorks.

Long Term Care
In the meantime, work is still moving forward on the Long Term Care renovation (we're making improvements there to meet Medicare guidelines that will ultimately allow us to accept Medicare patients. Work on the west wing is complete, so now the east wing is being completely gutted. That wing was part of the original hospital (which as we all know is almost 50 years old). After the demolition is finished, new patient rooms will be built and the new nurses' station will be completely refurbished. A temporary nurses' station will be set up in the solarium.

Operating Room
Last but not least, we are developing plans to give our operating room a facelift very soon as well. Our architects (the same ones who designed the other construction projects underway) have developed a floor plan, and we're waiting for the state's approval. Once the state OKs the plans, we can obtain cost estimates and present the plans to the board for their review and approval. The goal is to have three fully functional OR suites, which will allow for more surgeries and more efficient use of the space which is better for our doctors and our patients.

On the Horizon
To provide space for an additional provider and support the growth of the Oblong clinic, we are developing plans to double the size of the clinic. This would consist of the leasing and build out of the entire building that now houses the clinic. No date has been set yet, but we are working on a new lease and our architect has created a new floor plan.

We are also developing plans with the architects to renovate Suite 200, where our internists practice, to improve workflow and efficiency.