A New Era Begins
King's
Daughters' Health to move
into new hilltop hospital on Feb. 23
Trilogy
to convert old hospital
into senior living facility
By
Don Ward
Editor
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2013
February |
(February 2013) – With the planned Feb. 23 opening
of its new $100 million, 86-bed hospital on the Madison, Ind., hilltop,
King’s Daughters’ Health will enter a new era in its storied
114-year history. Construction began immediately after the November
2010 groundbreaking ceremony and most work was completed in early January
2013. Now comes the challenge of moving 30-40 patients, staff, equipment,
offices, computer and telephone systems from downtown to the hilltop
without missing a beat of providing health care to its customers.
To do the job, the hospital contracted with an outside consultant that
specializes in such moves, and the work actually began more than a year
ago, according to Dave Ommen, KDH’s Public Information Specialist.
He said the move actually began in mid-January with the installation
of technology and phones and some early on-site training of staff members.
Much of the medical materials and information technology is already
in place at the new facility.
“The project could not have gone better. Everything has been ahead
of schedule and under budget,” said KDH’s CEO Roger Allman.
“It is not only a complex construction project but also a complex
relocation project. But we have had help from a consultant and have
been planning this move for more than a year.”
In all, the planning and construction has taken five years, the last
two in actual construction. “It’s an exciting time,”
Allman continued. “The new hospital is a major statement from this
organization to provide the very best health care possible for this
community.”
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Panorama
photo by Don Ward Construction
is nearly complete on |
Allman had planned to retire upon reaching his 20th year
as CEO at KDH on Jan. 4, but he agreed to stay on through June to oversee
the transition. He turns 60 in March. A search committee is already
working to collect applicants and hire his replacement, he said.
Meantime, in conjunction with the planned opening, KDH held a joint
news conference Jan. 25 with Trilogy Health Services of Louisville,
Ky., to announce that the latter company has bought the old hospital
buildings downtown, except for the Medical Office Building, which KDH
will continue to operate and offer physician services there. For the
purchase price of $1, Trilogy plans to take over the old hospital structures
April 1 and immediately begin renovating the buildings in preparation
for opening assisted living and long-term care facilities in Madison.
Trilogy owns and operates Thornton Terrace Health Campus in Hanover
and this new venture will bring to 11 the number of Trilogy-owned campuses
throughout southern Indiana and 75 total in the Midwest (see related
story, Page 19).
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Graphic
provided This
map shows the buildings King’s |
“It’s a huge win-win for everyone,” Ommen
said of the Trilogy sale, which has been evolving over the past eight
months. “It not only adds health care services to the region, it
adds jobs to the region and makes this facility maintained and utilized
in the community for years to come, so it’s positive all the way
around.”
In addition to moving the KDH hospital to the hilltop, the staff faces
another challenge in educating the public and its customers on how to
find their physicians, hospital services, emergency room and other amenities,
Ommen said. He has been busy for the past few months creating directories
of physicians, hospital maps and other helpful literature to be disseminated
to the public as the transition takes place and for many months thereafter.
Much of the information has already been posted to the company website,
and the quarterly newsletter was distributed in late January to county
residents that is filled with similar information about the move and
impending hospital opening.
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Moving
Plans • Friday,
Feb. 15: Open house for physicians and clinicians |
KDH plans to move its patients to the hilltop facility
in a half day, beginning at 6 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 23. Sixteen ambulances
will be used for the move, including KDH vehicles and several contracted
from five other healthcare companies in the region.
“If all goes smoothly, we will begin the process in the morning
and finish by early afternoon,” Ommen said. “Our patients
will be fed breakfast downtown that day, then have lunch and dinner
in the new hospital on the hilltop. Both facilities will be open for
a period of time that day, and we will have physicians working at both
locations.”
The emergency rooms at each location will be open simultaneously that
day to ensure service to those who come during the move.
The physician offices will be moved the following weekend, on March
2-3. In all about 850 full-time and part-time employees and pool employees
will move to the hilltop. About 150 employees will remain downtown at
the current 50,000-square-foot Physicians Building, to be renamed the
Downtown Medical Building. Several other departments also will remain
downtown in existing buildings. This includes the Materials Warehouse
on Milton Street; those who work in the Sleep Lab and Business Office
on Fifth Street; the Cancer Center and EMT Ambulance Services on West
Street. Community Relations office will move across the street from
its present location on West Street into what is now the Human Resources
office. KDH will retain ownership of the parking garage and use the
bottom two floors but lease the top three floors to Trilogy.
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"The
new hospital is a major statement from this organization to provide
the very best health care possible for this community." |
The new hospital will use the 801 telephone prefix but
keep the existing numbers otherwise. For instance, a previous number
beginning with the prefix 265 will now use 801. The Main Campus telephone
number will change to (812) 801-0801.
Prior to the move, KDH is planning a Community Open House from 1-4 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 17, including a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 1:30 p.m.
Visitors will be able to tour the new four-story hospital and see the
new patient rooms and other amenities first-hand. These include:
n 86-bed private patient rooms featuring climate controls and quiet
comfort, with six rooms designated as Intensive Care Unit rooms
n Nursing “pods” will replace the traditional nursing stations,
with each pod servicing six patient rooms, thus ensuring prompt care
for patients;
n Guest seating on the third and fourth floors all surrounded by glass
and allowing for plenty of light and great views for an inviting atmosphere;
n Improved efficiency in navigation through the building to locate physician
and hospital services;
n Upgraded and contemporary medical technology with advance surgical
suites, a new MRI machine, 64-slice CT and a pneumatic tube system linking
the various areas of the hospital for swift transfer of specimens to
and from the laboratory.
“Any time you have a project of this magnitude things are going
to come up unexpectedly,” Ommen said. “But overall, the project
has been on schedule and remains on schedule to get to Feb. 23. It’s
been planned for months on how this transition is going to take place.
Although it is a big move, interruption to our patient care will be
very minimal.”
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Key
Dates in 1899:
Hospital opened Aug. 25 on Broadway Street |
The new hospital was built on a 96-acre site at 1373 E.
Hwy. 62, about one mile east of the intersection of Hwy. 421 and directly
across from North Madison Christian Church. It was designed by Artekna
of Indianapolis and built by general contractor Wehr Constructors Inc.
of Louisville, Ky. KDH plans to build a new cancer center at the hilltop
campus by 2014. In association with Norton Cancer Institute, KDH will
continue to provide both medical and radiation oncology.
The new hospital is similar to its predecessor in that it houses 86
beds in a four-story building and basement. But while the old hospital
was 156,000 square feet, the new one is 212,000 square feet. It offers
more privacy to patients and “backstage elevators” to allow
the movement of patients, equipment, supplies and meals in non-public
areas. Patient rooms will be identical, affording easier training for
the nursing staff.
While the top two floors will house the 86 private patient rooms, each
with their own window, the surgery and OB/GYN departments will be located
on the second floor. Cardiology, the lab and imagery departments will
be on the first floor, along with the Emergency Department, Human Resources
and Administration/Admitting. Medical offices for its 50 “providers”
(physicians, nurse practitioners and physician’s assistant) will
be located mostly on the first floor, with some physician offices on
the second floor. The new hospital also will feature a cafeteria, named
Seasons Café, which will also be open to the public. There will
also be seating in the adjacent courtyard for eating outside.
The basement will house the Diabetes and Wound Center, the Conference
Center and the Education Department. The new campus features six conference
rooms, with Oak 1 and Oak 2 available for larger meetings.
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Many community classes and programs will be offered in
the Conference Center.
Many hospital staff members already have received training and orientation
at the new facility. They say they are impressed with the quality and
efficiency of the new hospital and are anxious to move in.
Mike Hanson, 70, KDH Properties Manager for the past 24 years, has been
planning and directing the move of staff and equipment for months. Rather
than retire five years ago, he stayed on to be a part of the construction
and transition to the new hospital.
“It has been a challenge and a pleasure,” said Hanson. “Not
everyone gets a chance to build a new hospital in your own community,
so it was worth it to me to stay five years past retirement.”
He said the process has gone well and that “everything was done
with a patient focus in mind. It is a very aggressive transition that
is being broken down by the hour. By April 1, we will have everything
moved.”
Allman said he believes the public will “be amazed” at how
nice the new hospital is and come to appreciate the benefits of upgraded
equipment and easier navigation through a facility that was so designed.
“And the natural healing that comes with natural light in the rooms
will be a great benefit,” he said. “We will have increased
the space for our departments, such as emergency and surgery, which
have utilized every square inch of this old building. So the new building
is going to really be a wonderful thing.”