(Posted Feb. 15, 2017)
By Kristy Zurbrick, Madison Editor
Madison Health officials recently decided to add another facet to their expansion and renovation plans. Now, the $25 million project will include a makeover of the obstetrics (OB) department.
“We have lost OB share in the last couple of years, and we want to go all in to make sure people want to have babies here,” said Bob Waldeck, vice president of strategy and construction management.
The makeover plans are in early development. Waldeck said the department will stay where it is, accessible from the hospital’s main entrance off of Main Street. The department might gain space from the main entrance lobby, but otherwise the changes will be aesthetic.
“We want it to be upscale, hotel-like, very comfortable,” Waldeck said, adding that the amenities will rival those offered in Columbus hospitals.
New lighting, flooring, fixtures and furniture are planned, as well as the possibility of more space for visitors.
“We know we have to do this in order to keep a vibrant OB,” Waldeck said. “A lot of times, it’s where people get their first experience with the hospital.”
The OB makeover is a small part of the overall expansion and renovation project at Madison Health. The primary focus is a 24,000 square-foot, two-story addition that will house a new emergency department, cancer center, and offices for medical specialists.
The project also calls for connecting the Park Avenue Medical building to the main hospital, creating a whole new look for the Park Avenue side of the medical campus. This will include new outpatient and emergency department entrances.
The hospital has acquired several of the houses along Park Avenue and plans to tear them down to make way for green space and parking, creating a clear view from that side of the hospital to Cowling Park.
Last week, Trinity Health Group, the Westerville architectural firm working on the project, completed renderings showing what the Park Avenue side will look like when finished.
Waldeck said the hospital will tear down two of the houses along Park within the next couple of months so that crews can relocate utilities. The goal, he said, is to have the new power plant installed by Sept. 1 and the 24,000 square-foot addition enclosed by the end of 2017. The entire project is slated to be complete by the end of 2018.
Through the “Building on Excellence” campaign, the Madison Health Foundation is working to raise $6 million toward the cost of the expansion and renovation. To date, the foundation has collected $2.5 million in pledges and donations, said Kelly Snyder, executive director.
Madison Health is located at 210 N. Main St., London.
