Multi-million dollar expansion underway at MidMichigan Health

MidMichigan Health Center-Midland is in the middle of a multi-million dollar expansion -- the largest in its history.

The $115 million project is designed to accommodate growing patient needs. Over the past decade, the hospital has experienced an increase of 9.8 percent in inpatient admissions, as well as a 15.5 percent increase in outpatient admissions.

The entire project will take until 2012 to complete, but new operating rooms will be available for use as early as this winter, says Mike Erickson, vice president of facilities and construction at MidMichigan Medical Center-Midland. The expanded surgical services department will include six new operating rooms, renovation of existing operating rooms, and an upgrade to the post-anesthesia care unit.

The project also includes:

• New waiting rooms, and pre-surgical and recovery areas;

• Renovation of the prep and recovery areas in the cardiac catheterization and interventional radiology departments;

• A new building entrance and lobby;

• Expanded parking areas;

• A new three-story patient tower with 36 private rooms and critical care rooms on each floor;

• Construction of a heating and cooling plant.

The addition of private rooms -- from 100 to a total of 265 -- is a key feature of the project, Erickson says. Each of the private rooms will have a single bed, private bathroom with shower, a wall-mounted flat screen TV, additional seating, and a family area with a sofa that converts into a bed.

Hospital officials say the private rooms  put patients and family at ease by providing more confidentiality for patient–physician conversations. The private rooms, they say, also provides a more healing environment by allowing patients to rest more easily without interruption.

Writer: Jenny Cromie
Source: MidMichigan Health