This article was written by Stephanie Vavra.
“Let’s throw some dirt!” stated Morrison Community Hospital CEO Pam Pfister, as she concluded her remarks on Wednesday, September 11, 2019.
Anyone traveling up “hospital hill,” N. Jackson Street, has seen the vast amount of dirt being moved for the $18 million, 8200 square foot, Morrison Community Hospital expansion. Friends of Odell Public Library will host Mick Welding, Marketing Director, and Pam Pfister CEO, at a program about plans and construction at the hospital. This informative program will be held Monday, September 9, 2019, beginning at 6:30 p.m., in the Program Room at Odell Public Library, 307 S. Madison Street, Morrison, IL.
Morrison Community Hospital has expanded and grown, both in square footage and medical services throughout its lifetime. It is the only critical access hospital in Whiteside and Carroll Counties. Plans for another expansion are being enacted. Big equipment, trucks, and mounds of dirt testify that work is underway.
With a target date of mid-2020 for completion, the new addition will add five new emergency bays and a new trauma bay for the more seriously injured. When the Emergency Department was built in 1943, the hospital served nearly 43,000 residents; however, that number has long been surpassed and nearly doubled. The ER will be upgraded to accommodate more patients with improved privacy.
Also included will be a new Operating Room, making three. Welding explained, “We are looking at the possibility of orthopedic surgery.”
Lab, Radiology, and Physical Therapy will be relocated to the front of the hospital, for easier public access. All outpatient care will be on the same floor.
On the southeast addition’s second floor, eight, new private medical surgical rooms will bring the total to 16.
Morrison was only one of 40 rural community projects that received a low-interest loan from the USDA Rural Development Office. Morrison’s loan amount is the second-largest project of 17 states, and the only one in Illinois. “To say we are excited is an understatement!” stated Pfister.
Morrison Community Hospital offers many medical and surgical inpatient services, including the specialty services of an array of doctors, and a helipad to airlift critical patients. However, more room is needed both for the present and the future.
ANNE’S ARTICLE