Healthy growth

Jackson County updates its hospital

By Jennifer Pfaff

Jackson County's Black River Memorial Hospital is in the midst of a 55,000-square-foot expansion and 31,000-square-foot renovation. Rendering courtesy of HSR Associates Inc.

Four decades have come and gone since Black River Memorial Hospital was first erected in Jackson County.

In those 40 years, health care changed so dramatically that it bears only a passing resemblance to what it was in the 1960s. Patients, who at one time spent days in the hospital recovering from operations, now go home before night falls on their surgery date.

Technology improved the way hospitals monitor patients, and medical philosophies now recognize the value of patient comfort in patient care.

But while these changes arrive in rapid-fire progression in the health profession, decades-old buildings have failed to keep up, said Stan Gaynor, chief executive officer of Black River Memorial Hospital Inc. in Black River Falls.

That’s why the independently run hospital is sinking $20 million into a multiyear expansion and renovation that will drastically enlarge service areas, allow new treatments and better accommodate needed equipment.

“The building we have was built in the mid-1960s,” Gaynor said. “It was built as a 70-bed hospital. Today, the majority of care is being delivered in an ambulatory setting; it’s a matter of form fitting function. We now need 25 inpatient beds and more room for other services.”

The T-shaped hospital is gaining two-story additions to the east and west of the existing three-story portion of the building and a one-story addition in front of the original two-story façade, said Kurt Schroeder, architect with La Crosse-based HSR Associates Inc., the project’s architect.

The additional 55,000 square feet, combined with 31,000 square feet of remo-deled space, will allow a dramatic transformation in how the hospital functions.

Systems updates are integral to the renovation. Standards for air circulation and the need for emergency power have increased since the building was first constructed, Schroeder said. Whereas only portions of the original facility are protected by sprinklers, fire-suppression systems will cover the entire building after the renovation.

“We identify all those needs ahead of time,” he said. “There has been a lot of careful coordination with the owner.”

That coordination is especially important during construction. Patient care will be uninterrupted during construction, which means that dust- and noise-control are essential, said Matt Faulkner, project manager for general contractor and construction manager Market & Johnson Inc., Eau Claire.

Once the project wraps up, the hospital will offer a 12-bed dialysis unit. It’s a needed service in central Wisconsin, and one that dialysis patients are now traveling far to receive, Gaynor said.

Rather than cramming physical and occupational therapy into modified patient rooms, an open, gymnasium-like setting will host these services. The emergency room, which is seeing more and more visits, will be larger, and room will exist to add services and equipment.

But perhaps the feature patients will notice most is the remaining 25 patient rooms that will be individual rooms with enough space for the patient, needed equipment, visitors and hospital staff. In addition, those giving birth will now be able to do so without ever leaving the privacy of their personal suite, Schroeder said.

“Each is like a hotel suite; that’s our target,” he said.

HSR also added some design elements to dress up the façade while remaining true to the original brick and stucco appearance.

The project started in September and should reach completion in January 2008, Faulkner said.