FORUM HEALTH Hospital building project to begin

A parking deck will be the first project to get started, next week. Construction of the children's hospital addition will begin in 2003.
YOUNGSTOWN -- Forum Health announced a five-year, $89 million facilities improvement plan Wednesday that includes a new home for Tod Children's Hospital and the Heart Hospital on the Northside Medical Center campus.
N. Kristopher Hoce, president and chief executive officer of Forum Health, said the new master facility plan, recently approved by Forum Health's board of directors, will also affect Trumbull Memorial Hospital in Warren, Northside Medical Center and Beeghly Medical Park in Boardman.
Though the building project at the Northside and Tod facilities will take several years, construction of a parking deck will begin Monday.
The reason the parking deck is first on the agenda, Hoce said, is so land now used for parking can be available when construction of the addition begins in 2003.
A three-story addition to the hospital's northwest corner will become the new home for Tod Children's Hospital and The Heart Hospital, and will connect with the parking deck spanning Children's Boulevard.
Since 1997, Forum Health has expanded outpatient access to health services by building and strengthening services at Elm Road, Austintown and Beeghly Medical Parks.
The facilities plan is focused on the increasingly busy inpatient and emergency care areas, Hoce said.
Other plans
At TMH, expansion is planned for emergency services, the cancer treatment areas and the Heart Hospital.
Radiation therapy and other services will be developed at Beeghly Medical Park.
Northside Medical Center and Tod Children's Hospital, the organization's oldest buildings, will undergo extensive improvements.
Renovations at Northside Medical Center will affect patient care units, emergency, radiology, surgery, the medical library and cafeteria.
& quot;These facility improvements address future needs that will allow Forum Health to be responsive in providing high-quality services that the community needs, deserves and expects, & quot; Hoce said.
& quot;This investment in the future will ensure our mission to enhance the health status of the region. & quot;
According to Hoce, & quot;These changes will create a next-generation health campus that focuses on patient-centered care and improves our ability to provide quality services in a healing environment. & quot;
Other advantages
The design for the campus will improve patient flow, efficiency and convenience for staff, patients, family members and visitors.
Funds for the five-year project will come from several sources. Bond financing to be arranged this summer will fund $55 million of the project.
The remaining funds will be raised through a combination of a community philanthropy campaign and revenue from our hospitals and subsidiary services.
None of the financing will come from funds used for the daily operations of Forum Health, Hoce said.
Just as the Northside Medical Center will undergo significant changes in the next few years, the newer Trumbull campus, which needs less investment now, will require a substantial upgrade in another decade, he said.