Eglin Hospital expansion continues

  • Published
  • By Sara Vidoni
  • Team Eglin Public Affairs
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  Driving down Boatner Road, one cannot help but notice the vast amount of construction taking place at Eglin Hospital. After breaking ground on their expansion in June 2012, construction at the hospital has continued to move forward with many of the new facilities and departments scheduled to open this summer.

The renovation, which occurs over 145,000 square feet of the hospital, is focused on creating a medical campus of healing.

"We will increase efficiencies among service lines and improve overall patient access to care," said Col. Gianna Zeh, the 96th Medical Group Commander.

With more than 1,200 patients seen daily, Eglin Hospital is putting the resources in place to meet the ever-changing needs of their growing patient population.

"The construction project is more than just a facelift, modernization of the waiting and patient areas will improve patient flow and comfort," said Zeh. "In addition, great effort has been made to reconfigure key clinical areas to better suit our patients' needs."

An example is the introduction of a new Women/Child Center of Excellence where obstetrics, gynecology, mammography and pediatrics will be co-located on the second floor of the outpatient clinic wing starting in 2014.

Also part of the renovation, the hospital will be introducing three new service lines to their already robust array of specialties: pain management, ortho-spine surgery and nephrology.

"All of these efforts are to make Eglin Hospital our patients' first choice for their health care needs," explained Zeh. "We appreciate everyone's patience during this transition to provide them exceptional care."

Over the next three months, many of the hospital renovations will wrap up and soon be available for patients.

Upon completion of construction, Eglin hospital will expand their operating room capability from five to seven ORs. This includes a new, state-of-the-art hybrid operating room opening June 26. The hybrid operating room brings a new level of capability to the surgeon. The new diagnostic equipment in the hybrid OR will allow the 96th MDG providers to accomplish more complex surgeries in both scope and type. It will also allow surgeons to increase their OR days from one to two days a week, improving overall patient access.

The minor procedure suite is being renovated and relocated next to the new emergency department in the Col D'Amore Inpatient Tower. The suites will have four endoscopy rooms and eight recovery bays. This suite is scheduled to open July 5.

The emergency department is moving to a new location on the first floor of the Col D'Amore Tower. The new ED has been designed to increase efficiency in patient flow enabling critical patients to have immediate access to care. It will feature modernized exam and treatment rooms as well as a new, more accessible entrance. It is due to open in its new location July 30.

The specialty clinics will soon be located on the third floor of the North Tower. The specialty clinics include cardiology, pulmonary, neurology, nephrology, audiology, dermatology, hematology and oncology. This renovation allows for enhanced capacity in the nephrology clinic's infusion center and the addition of sleep study rooms. The increased capability allows more patients to receive services and treatments at any given time. The third floor specialty clinics are expected to open to patients on July 24.

Lastly, a new Aerospace Medicine Squadron annex building which houses flight medicine, inpatient records and public health is scheduled for completion in September 2013. It is a contemporary, state-of-the-art facility which has been Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-certified by the U.S Green Building Council.

The remainder of the renovations taking place in the hospital are slated to open to patients and visitors in 2014. This includes a major renovation to the main hospital lobby that will showcase a new patient elevator and grand staircase. Due to this renovation, the main entrance of the hospital will close from July through October of 2013. Signage and staff will be in place to direct visitors.

The overall cost of the construction which is scheduled to end in December 2014, is $67 million with $10 million going toward initial outfitting. This money was awarded to Eglin Hospital in 2011 through stimulus funding.