About
Welcome to Images of Henderson - Henderson County online, produced in cooperation with the Henderson - Henderson County Chamber of Commerce.
Archives
Read past editions of Images of Henderson - Henderson County magazine.
Local Advertisers
The Facts
Realtor.com
Search for a new home, get moving tips and more at the
National Association of Realtors’ Web site.
Go there...
Gardening
How does your garden grow? Get the dirt on regional gardening.
Read more...
Food
What's cookin'? Get a taste of regional cuisine.
Read more...
Education and school listings
Check out school districts, colleges and universities in the Henderson-Henderson County area.
Read more...
More Information
or to request a copy of Images of Henderson - Henderson County magazine, contact the Henderson - Henderson County Chamber of Commerce at (270) 826-9531.
Contact Us
Feedback
Let us know your thoughts...
Advertising Info
Need more info? Looking for ad specifications?
Local Advertisers
Health Care
Big, Strong and Healthy
Hospital's new tower adds amenities, services for better health care
Methodist Hospital invested more than $20 million in a new South Tower, which will include a new pharmacy, surgical services and technological upgrades.When Methodist Hospital opened in its current location in 1946, the facility sparked a great deal of excitement for the community. Sixty years later, as the hospital nears completion of a $22 million South Tower, there’s a new wave of excitement brewing.
The new South Tower is being constructed in the footprint of the original building, which was demolished in 2005 to make room for the new facility. The first phase of the South Tower construction is expected to open in August 2007 and will include three floors of a proposed seven-floor building. Additional floors will be complete as the funding is available.
“We’ve had a very hands-on and involved planning process with our staff,” says Pam Moran, the hospital’s director of planning and development. “There’s a certain ownership and enthusiasm.”
The Henderson Regional Hospital Foundation had as its goal to raise $2 million of the $22 million needed for the first phase of the South Tower construction. The foundation started first with the hospital family – medical staff, board of directors and other staff.
“The support was overwhelming,” Moran says. “This is a significant event for this hospital, and people have stepped up in a significant way.”
The new construction is the result of a master plan proposed in the 1990s to determine the best plan for the future of Methodist Hospital.
“The original property was at the end of its useful life as a health-care facility and could no longer meet today’s needs,” Moran says, adding that the master plan determined the hospital would remain in its current location.
In 1998, the hospital constructed the North Tower, which houses the intensive care unit, laboratory and telemetry and therapy services. In 2003, the hospital’s emergency department was renovated and expanded.
The ground floor of the South Tower will house a new cafeteria, dietary department, pharmacy, lobby and a new patient entrance with a drive-through canopy that will lead patients to admissions and surgical services. The first floor houses all new surgical suites with preparation and recovery areas, and the second floor will feature a larger obstetrics/nursery/neonatal intensive care unit. The remaining four floors, which are expected to open in 2013, will house the medical, surgical and pediatric units.
In addition to the new space, technological upgrades, such as digital operating rooms, are also on the list of facility amenities.
“We chose to build an all-new facility and utilize the adjacent space for supportive functions,” Moran says.
“We are good stewards of our money. We’re making sure that everything falls into place as it should. We hope to be on time and on budget. This is going to be a new, very modern hospital.”
Story by Nancy Humphrey
Photo by Antony Boshier
Additional Health Care Articles
© Copyright 2007 Journal Communications Inc.
All rights reserved. No portion of this Web site may be reproduced in whole or in part without written consent.