|
2004 Press Releases
Meier secures $100,000
for
Rome’s new Emergency
Department
ROME – Senator Raymond A. Meier, R-C, Western, has
secured $100,000 in state funding for Rome Memorial
Hospital’s new $10.5 million Emergency Department,
announced President and Chief Executive Officer Darlene
Burns, M.S., R.N.
“We met with Senator Meier in March to outline our
vision for a new 10,500 square foot Emergency Department
that would
enhance patients’ comfort and privacy and
decrease wait times through more space and greater
efficiency,” Mrs. Burns said. “We’re very appreciative
that the Senator shares in our vision of improving
healthcare services for the people we serve.”
The hospital is building a new Emergency Department to
address the overcrowding that has occurred as a result
of the increasing number of patient visits. The current
Emergency Department was built in 1976 when the number
of patient visits numbered less than 10,000 per year.
In 2003, the Emergency Department staff treated 19,165
patients, a 3.4% increase over 2002.
“At one time or another most of us will need to visit
the emergency room whether it be for ourselves or with a
family member. Last year,
Rome
Memorial Hospital provided care to nearly two times the
number of patients than the emergency room was
originally built to care for. This project is very
important to ensure Rome Memorial can continue to
provide the highest quality of care to its patients,”
Senator Meier said.
“We’re grateful to the Senator for his support and are
confident in his continued commitment to projects that
benefit the greater good of the community,” Mrs. Burns
said.
Seeking broad community support for the new Emergency
Department, the Rome Memorial Hospital Foundation
launched a $3 million “Building a Better Tomorrow”
capital campaign to help offset the $10.5 million cost
of the project. As of Oct. 18, $2,462,585
has been raised towards the goal, according to the
Foundation’s Executive Director Joelle Taylor.
“During the initial phase of the campaign, nearly $2.25
million was pledged by major donors, foundations,
hospital management, physicians and board members,” Mrs.
Taylor said. “In the month since we launched the public
phase of the campaign, we have received an additional
$218,912 in pledges, including the grant secured by the
Senator.”
Site work to pave the way for Rome Memorial Hospital’s
new Emergency Department started Wednesday, Oct. 6.
This initial phase of the project will include grading
and paving as contractors prepare to
construct a new parking area and paved traffic circle on
the north side of the hospital near the Emergency
Department. Other site work will include extending the
current access road that runs parallel to Black River
Boulevard, creating a new 57-space parking lot,
relocating an existing garage and moving the hospital’s
helipad.
A new energy center to house the hospital’s mechanical
systems will be constructed before work begins on the
new 10,500 square foot Emergency Department. Expected
to open in 2006, the new facility will take
approximately a year to build.
|
