LYNNE JETER

Top-Bottom: Emergency Department Floor Plan; Heart Hospital Floor Plan; OB/GYN Floor Plan

Construction dust is swirling in Greenville, where Delta Regional Medical Center (DRMC) is undergoing a $35.7 million facility expansion and renovation, slated for completion by the end of 2008.

The formal closing on the revenue bond issue took place March 22 in Jackson to refinance the 2005 purchase of The King's Daughters Hospital for $21 million and to expand the center's facilities and services for $10.6 million. The groundbreaking event took place March 26.

"We'll have four major projects underway at the same time on the main campus," said DRMC CEO Ray Humphreys, pointing out a nearly 6,000-square-foot expansion of the emergency department and 3,445 square feet of renovation to the existing space; the conversion of the former burn center to a high-tech heart and vascular center; a nearly 4,000-square-foot expansion of the Maternal Child Center including the addition of a NICU; and the addition of an advanced 64-slice CT scanner to the center's imaging capabilities.

Humphreys said the lower interest rate allowed by HUD, affiliated with the refinancing of the loan acquired for the purchase of The King's Daughters Hospital, "will mean huge savings in interest payments going forward," perhaps more than $6 million over the life of the 25-year loan.

These projects directly address some of the most pressing healthcare needs of Delta residents, said Humphreys, noting:

· The Delta leads the nation in heart disease and heart-related deaths. The high-tech heart and vascular center will allow DRMC to expand its heart program and provide the most advanced technology and services for treating heart disease, including an expanded open-heart program.

· The Emergency Department expansion will help serve the growing need for emergency services and trauma care. DRMC, the region's only Level II Trauma Center, saw more than 45,000 patients in 2006.

· Renovations and expansions to the Maternal Child Center, particularly the NICU, will allow at-risk mothers and their infants to be treated in the Delta rather than being sent to University Medical Center in Jackson for highly specialized care. The unit's labor and delivery suites will be expanded and renovated for greater comfort and convenience of mothers and their families.

· The new Toshiba 64-slice CT scanner, one of the most advanced scanners on the market, will move DRMC a step forward in the early diagnosis of heart disease and cancer.

"To establish a new heart hospital, a new NICU, to more than double the size of our Emergency Room, and to add new imaging capabilities … these additions address the most pressing healthcare needs of our Delta residents," said DRMC chairman Billy Schultz. "We're moving toward a healthier, brighter future for the entire Delta."

Specific changes taking place are:

· In the ER, the largest area under construction, the addition is being built from the ground up in an area previously occupied by covered outdoor steps and parking space. The new space will house a waiting area that will be significantly larger than the existing one, and will also have additional restrooms. The architectural style of the new construction will complement the existing curved motif on the front entrance of the hospital. The existing waiting area will be remodeled and converted into new patient exam rooms, and the existing east dock area also will be enclosed to create additional patient exam rooms. The remaining existing space will be renovated to create a more efficient overall emergency room design, with improved consultation rooms, admission and reception areas, and nurses' stations. The Chest Pain Clinic observation area will be expanded to four beds. The cardiac monitoring telemetry equipment will have expanded, continuous coverage through the Chest Pain Center, ICU and the Heart and Vascular Center, so that from any of these locations a record of the patient's telemetry activity will be available for 72 hours back, no matter in which of these areas the patient has been treated. "The availability of a 72-hour continuous monitor record for the provider will improve the continuity of care for our patients," said chief nursing officer Florence Jones.

· The Heart and Vascular Center expansion into the area that formerly housed the burn unit will consist of eight patient rooms, two cardiovascular operating suites, an angiography suite, recovery, family waiting, and staff areas. "Our goal is to move to the 'Same-Stay Unit' concept," said Don Johnson, RN, administrator of the Heart and Vascular Center. "This concept will allow the patient to be admitted, have surgery, recover, and be discharged, all based from the same room with the same core staff unit caring for them during their entire hospital stay." The eight newly remodeled and equipped Heart and Vascular patient rooms will be located where the burn unit patient rooms were situated. The operating suites and angiography suite will be added in the surgical area with new construction and heart and vascular surgical equipment. The angiography suite will be a multi-purpose room, allowing the surgical staff to perform angiography studies and perform the newly approved abdominal aortic aneurysm stent repair currently being performed in DRMC's main surgery area.

· The advanced 64-slice CT scanner being added to DRMC's imaging capabilities is The Aquilion 64, which produces 64 images per half second, incorporates speed, leading-edge technology and ergonomic features to increase productivity while enhancing comfort. Some of the new scanner's special features include: easier access for less ambulatory patients; the longest and widest patient couch; and excellent low contrast resolution at the industry's lowest dose, for greater patient safety. The Aquilion 64 also offers a comprehensive set of advanced applications, which address today's critical needs in a variety of therapeutic areas, giving physicians the ability to diagnose a patient's condition much earlier. Two innovative applications for the new equipment include automated cardiac scanning, a non-invasive and highly accurate alternative to the diagnostic catheterization, and stroke analysis, which enables stroke diagnoses to be made within the critical treatment window. In 2006, The Aquilion 64-slice CT was named KLAS Enterprises' Best in KLAS, an award that reflects product and service performance data provided by hospitals, clinics and outpatient facilities collected over the last 13 months.

· The expansion of the medical center's fourth floor east, which formerly housed respiratory therapy and storage areas, will add five postpartum patient rooms, a nurses' station, and a NICU. Each of the five new postpartum rooms will represent a private room equipped with a private bath. Prior to the present renovations, DRMC had a Level II Nursery, not a NICU. DRMC will continue to have a Level II nursery, but will add nursery intensive care and isolation beds. The existing nursery will remain in operation for well newborn care. The existing Maternal Child Center located on fourth floor south will continue to operate at normal capacity during the construction phase. The construction will be taking place on a separate wing from both the existing maternal child and pediatric wings. The fourth floor has undergone additional renovation in the last 12 months, with the addition of a 11-bed pediatric wing on fourth floor north, the old home of Solutions Behavioral Health. When Solutions moved to the King's Daughters campus, the space on the main campus was utilized to create a Pediatric Wing.

Malouf Construction, based in Greenwood, is handling the renovation and expansion project, which is adding up to 80 jobs to the local economy. Hospital departments will continue to serve patients during the construction phase.



July 2007