ST. JOSEPH HEALTH CENTER Latest operation: a surgery addition

The Warren hospital needs more room for surgeries and other services.
By DON SHILLING
VINDICATOR BUSINESS EDITOR
WARREN -- St. Joseph Health Center will break ground Tuesday for an $18.8 million addition and renovation that will provide more space for its surgical department.
A three-story, 35,000-square-foot addition will be constructed on the north side of the building and is set for completion by the spring of 2006.
"This is a real big deal," said Bill Young, hospital administrator. "We're excited about this."
The last renovations at the hospital were several years ago when improvements were made to the cancer care center and emergency department.
Young said the hospital needs more space to provide high-quality surgical care. Modern surgical equipment requires more space than the equipment of past years, he said.
Hospital officials also decided to build an addition, rather than just remodel, because it is less costly and would allow surgeries to continue during construction, he said.
Surgical suites
The expansion will replace the six operating rooms with what officials are calling surgical suites. They will be equipped with a system of overhead cameras, centralized controls and flat-screen monitors that can be set to the surgeon's preferences.
The surgical area will be on the top floor of the addition. The first floor will be used by the admissions, cardiac care and radiology departments. All of these departments need more room to properly serve patients, Young said.
The second floor will be used partly by the intensive care department, but some of it will be left vacant for a future use that hasn't been determined. Young said that decision will be made within the next year.
Once construction is completed, the old operating rooms will be remodeled and used as the area where patients are taken before surgery, the recovery room and family waiting area.
St. Joseph's said more than 500 patients receive surgical services at the hospital each month.
Humility of Mary affiliate
The hospital is part of Humility of Mary Health Partners, which has been spending tens of millions of dollars on improvements to its facilities, as has Forum Health.
Humility of Mary has invested $25 million in its emergency and diagnostic centers in Boardman, $8 million in its emergency department at St. Elizabeth's and $6 million in a new heart and vascular center at St. Elizabeth's.
shilling@vindy.com