Batesville, Ark.— Gary L. Bebow, WRHS Administrator/CEO has announced the temporary closure of White River Medical Center's (WRMC) East visitors parking lot and the plans for a groundbreaking ceremony, which will officially begin the construction of the WRMC Ground Floor Renovation and Patient Tower Expansion.
The East visitor parking lot will close for 60 days beginning on June 3 for work related to the project. Additional visitor parking will be available adjacent to the White River Medical Center Medical Arts Building. Due to construction, the East Entrance to WRMC will be closed temporarily. Patients and visitors will be asked to enter the hospital through the Josephine Raye Rogers Center for Women and Imaging and at the smaller entrance located on the East side of the hospital. The WRMC Volunteers will extend shuttle service hours to accommodate visitors needs.
The Groundbreaking Ceremony will take place on Tuesday, June 7, at 10 a.m. on the East side of the hospital.
"This project is about preparing for the growing need for healthcare, but it's also about keeping pace with the most modern healthcare available," said Bebow. "It's what our patients deserve." The Patient Tower is a four-story addition that will include 60 new private patient beds. It will also lead to the relocation of Dietary, Cafeteria, Gift Shop, Pharmacy, Environmental Services, and Materials Management, as well as the expansion of Outpatient Services, Patient Registration, Ambulatory Care, and Surgical Pre-Admission Testing. Ultimately, the Emergency Department will be expanded as a result of this project.
The state-of-the-art tower will be a center for advanced technology that will allow WRMC to satisfy the growing healthcare needs of our region. The design of the new structure will allow staff to utilize technology to work more efficiently, creating more time for bedside patient care. The Tower will benefit the community as well as bring 270 additional jobs to the area over the next five years.
The funding for the $35M project is being made possible by contributions from private fundraising, grants, and funds from hospital operations. A part of the fundraising effort was the first ever Employee Campaign, which raised $540,000. The Volunteers donation of $500,000 and the Independence County Economic Development Commission's approval grant for $540,000 are also major contributions to the funding of the project.
The WRHS Foundation pledged to raise $5M for the project. To date, $4.2M has been pledged by local companies and individuals. "We are really impressed with the generosity we've seen during this campaign," said Jeff Showalter, Foundation Board Vice President and Chairman of the Steering Committee for the Investment Campaign.
Cromwell Architects Engineers of Little Rock designed the project, and Clark Contractors, also of Little Rock, is the general contractor. The project will take 18 to 24 months to complete. WRMC is a 199-bed regional referral center and the flagship facility of White River Health System (WRHS). WRHS is a not-for-profit healthcare system serving residents throughout North Central Arkansas. The system includes hospitals, outpatient facilities, rural health clinics, and primary care and specialty physician offices. White River Health System is a member of the Premier Alliance, the American Hospital Association and the Arkansas Hospital Association, is a recipient of the Governor's Award, and is licensed by the Arkansas Department of Health.
Posted: June, 03 2011