Ground was broken Thursday for a new Emergency Care Center at Kosciusko Community Hospital.

The new two-story facility will occupy 12,400 square feet of a 24,800-square-foot addition to the west side of the hospital, adjacent to the helipad.

The remainder of the addition will be shell space for future expansion of hospital services. The existing emergency area is only 4,500 square feet. The total cost for all construction and related equipment is estimated at $8.2 million.

Michael Mullins, chief executive officer of KCH, welcomed those gathered to the ground-breaking ceremonies. Dr. Neal Van Ness, vice chairman of the KCH board of directors, and Dr. Patrick Silveus, KCH medical staff president, provided additional information about the new facility.

Van Ness said, "In the 14 years that I've been here, the emergency room has been in a constant state of change, trying to rearrange the space we had. This project has been in the planning stage for two years, and the expanded facilities will increase patients' comfort and improve access to advanced health care and technology. The patients' and families' initial contact with the hospital many times is the emergency room, and that experience can make a difference in whether they return to KCH or go someplace else."

Silveus cited the input of multiple disciplines into planning the facility. He said, "The ECC will be a state-of-the-art facility and join the recently completed Women's Center and Cancer Care Center."

Pastor John Teevan said, "This is a clear mark of the compassion of Jesus Christ and the community to care for people."

Julie Bowers, division director of KCH Inpatient Services and the Emergency Care Center, said, "We have outgrown our current facility. We have nearly 19,000 Emergency Care Center visits annually. As our community grows, we are expanding to be able to handle higher volumes more efficiently through facility and technological updates."

Based on industry benchmarks, the ECC current volume exceeds capacity by 2,000 visits annually.

To improve access, two entrances are planned. One entrance will accommodate patients brought by ambulance and one will be used by walk-in emergency care patients. The additional road construction that started July 6 is designed to link access from Provident Drive to the west and south sides of the hospital. The new road assures ease of access to both the ECC and other support functions of the hospital.

The new ECC will feature an enlarged waiting area with private registration, two triage rooms, three trauma/critical care rooms, two OB/GYN rooms, two pediatric exam rooms, one ear nose and throat exam room, two orthopedic/minor procedure rooms, one isolation room, five general exam rooms and two observation rooms. All patient care rooms will be private and will have cardiac monitor capability. An EMS support room will be close to the ambulance entrance. Easy access to EMS storage supplies and training materials also has been incorporated into the design of structure. A radiology room and film processing area will be in the ECC for immediate access.

Homeland Security Grant dollars will be used to construct a state-of-the-art external decontamination shower system.

Architectural design was prepared by MSKTD & Associates Inc. Weigand Construction will complete this project in the fall of 2005.

The Emergency Department at Kosciusko Community Hospital will remain open 24 hours a day throughout construction with no interruption in service. [[In-content Ad]]