Black River Memorial Hospital Celebrates 50th Anniversary with Expansion
Tuesday, June 5th, 2018 -- 11:38 AM
-Black River Memorial Hospital celebrates its 50th anniversary and with it brings plans for renovation and expansion at its main building on Adams Street.BRMH was renovated in 2007. Since then, there have been many changes to healthcare and the organization. There has been a significant shift from inpatient services to outpatient services and the demands of providing excellent care are exceeding current capacity. In order for BRMH to continue to meet the needs of our community and to provide care as close to home as possible, BRMH will be expanding and renovating the main building. The 2016 community health needs assessment validated mental health and substance abuse as concerns for the residents of Jackson County.
Mary Beth White-Jacobs, CEO, had this to say about the expansion: "Our mission of providing excellence service, requires us to look at how we are meeting the needs of our community. We realize there are gaps in local healthcare services and this leads to struggles for families and patients to find care. This project will improve service offers in many areas which helps our staff, patients and the community."
The project includes additions in surgical and specialty services, rehabillitation, outpatient services and behavioral health care. Urgent Care will be separated from ER and have its own entrance. The cafeteria and kitchen will be completely renovated. There are other projects throughout the hospital that will make providing care more efficient for staff, as well.
Matthew Streeter, CFO and project manager had this to say about the expansion: "We are at capacity for the services that we currently offer. In order to add services to meet the needs of some of our community, expansion is the next step. The project reinvests in the community and our patients."
The facility planning began in 2014 with interviews and studies of the current building. The hospital team identified the need for renovation and/or expansion. With that in mind, the senior leader team began to save for the building project as it continued to plan for the renovation. The projected cost for the project is around $13 million. The groundbreaking for the project is tentatively planned for July of 2018 and will be completed by Spring of 2020. BRMH is an independent community hospital serving Jackson County, Wisconsin.
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