Ohio County Healthcare in design phase for new surgical department

Ohio County Healthcare has entered into the design and development phase of its 23,000 square-foot surgical department located on the campus of the existing hospital facilities.

The $16 million project will more than double the hospital’s operating space as well as provide enough room for robotic surgeries.

“Not only do we want to increase the actual footprint of our hospital campus, we also want to make sure in the design of this surgical facility that we are creating the most convenient access to care for our patients,” said OCH Director of Community Relations CeCe Robinson.

“Robotic and orthopedic surgeries require a lot of room and the expansion will provide the necessary space to perform the surgeries we need to perform here,” said Tony Ward, a pharmacist at the hospital who is serving as its project manager.

Robinson said the surgical expansion will allow the current surgical staff to expand the services they currently provide while also helping with recruitment of additional surgical specialties as well.

Along with larger operating facilities, the expansion will increase the number of procedures that can be conducted at one time. It will also include a walkway connecting it to the existing building, a larger waiting area, rooms for pre-op and post-operative care and recovery rooms as well as space for staff, equipment and supplies.

OCH had hoped to break ground on the project late last year or this spring, but the project has faced delays due to the pandemic. Prior to COVID-19, Robinson said they planned to break ground sometime this month, but “by necessity, we needed to put our focus on testing, treatment and now vaccines.”

The hospital currently hopes to break ground on the project at the end of July or the first of August and the construction process on the surgical wing should take approximately 16-18 months. However, Ward said it could take two to two and a half years to complete the entire project, which includes renovations to the existing ICU unit and surgery area.

In order to make way for the project, the hospital had to approve a $500,000 project to move the hospital’s ICU unit into a suite of high-acuity negative-pressure rooms and waiting area as the current ICU unit will serve as the connecting point between the existing hospital and the new surgical department. These three isolation rooms can provide space for patients if another pandemic situation were to occur. The current renovations are expected to be completed this spring.

The current surgical space at OCH will be used for services such as orthopedic clinic space, waiting rooms, ENT services and x-ray. Other departments inside the hospital, such as the pharmacy, radiology and labs, will also be relocated or moved during the renovations in order for OCH to better serve its patients.

“This will help us become more efficient and streamline our operations to make sure that we have the footprint to meet what the demands are today,” Ward said.

Over the past several months, Ohio County Healthcare has purchased property adjacent to the current facility which will allow for the surgical expansion project as well as provide additional parking.

“We are excited that we are able to grow. Every time that we add a new service, we know that it is enhancing the care of our community,” Robinson said.