Why a new hospital

We’ve been providing services at our Winter Street location since 1916. The oldest part of the hospital was built in 1953, before we knew much about the likelihood of earthquakes in the Northwest and before many of the healthcare services we take for granted today were even envisioned.

These are among the factors that convinced us a new hospital is needed.

Natural disasters. In a moderate earthquake, parts of the current facility would sustain significant enough damage that patients would need to be evacuated and facilities inspected. While we would reopen portions of the hospital as quickly as is safe, we would be operating at minimal capacity until structural repairs could be fully completed, in one to three years. The hospital is also in a 100-year flood plain, putting first-floor services such as the Emergency Department in jeopardy during a flood.

ICU and other patient and family areas are inadequate. If you are visiting a loved one in the ICU, or have a large family wanting to visit a patient anywhere in the hospital, you already know that we need larger patient rooms so everyone can visit comfortably. We also need patient rooms that are large enough to hold modern medical technology.

Technology and imaging changes. Although we think of healthcare as a “high-touch” business, it’s also very high tech. Because the Winter Street hospital was built before technology became so important in healthcare, there isn’t much more space to run the cables needed to support all of the essential medical equipment.

More people live in the area, and we’re all aging. From the increased traffic and new subdivisions popping up everywhere, we all know that more and more people are calling Marion and Polk Counties home.

And the largest group of people—the baby boomers—are quickly reaching the age of those who increasingly need hospital services.