Craig Daily Press / TMH sets move-in date; hospital to be up and running in November

Archive for Wednesday, August 5, 2009

August 5, 2009

The Memorial Hospital has set the date to begin the process of moving into its new facility.

On Oct. 15, TMH will have ownership occupancy, meaning the building is 90 to 95 percent complete and the hospital can begin to move in furniture and equipment.

The new facility, off of Moffat County Road 7, will open and be fully functional on or about Nov. 12, said Samantha Johnston, TMH service excellence officer.

The month in between will provide time for essential training and development.

"It's a big facility that the staff will see completed for the first time," Johnston said. "There are a lot of differences like the security system and operational workflow. They will need to spend time getting oriented to new equipment and workflow, and learn how to interface with other departments."

New security systems keep patients in different departments separate from one another to ensure privacy and safety.

The new configuration, however, will require completely new interdepartmental procedures, so extra steps will be taken to ensure the staff is familiar with the new workflow.

"When we open the doors, we want it to be flawless," Johnston said. "We want people to not know the difference if we were open for a day or open for a year."

TMH also will be conducting several open houses to allow the public to see the building in its entirety.

"This will be the only opportunity the public will have to see the whole thing," Johnston said. "Simply because it's so secure and we have taken such care to keep the patients separate form the public."

Johnston said TMH is excited to be able to move in ahead of schedule.

"It's great to be able to move in and move the patients while the weather is still great," she said. "And it'll be before the holidays for the employees. There are also some cost efficiencies. We expect to see some savings on the project because the crews will be out there two months shorter than we planned."

And although the $42.6 million project is nearing an end, TMH can't slow down now, Johnston said.

"We really have to be on our game and have all of our ducks in a row to have this happen on our accelerated schedule," she said.

11 August 2009 at 7:03 p.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

lostyermarbles (Anonymous) says…

I heard something and would like someone to verify it. Is the hospital supplemented by Home Land Security??? And if so then why are we paing for it. Also, is it true when a old person leaves the hospital and has to go to Sandrocks they are made to be treated by Dr. Miller only?? And also why are they so short handed there at Sandrocks but the guy who runs it gets a big bonus if he keeps his costs down????? does anyone know??? The people there don't get great care.

11 August 2009 at 10:45 p.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

Craig_gal (Anonymous) says…

Sandrocks has a social worker, that person should be able to give you the information that you need or at least put you in contact with someone that can give you more input. Also, friends have found it very helpful to ask the VNA home health staff about key questions to ask the ombudsman and social worker when there were concerns, they found everyone very up front and resourceful

13 August 2009 at 3:44 p.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

SamanthaJohnston (Samantha Johnston) says…

lostyermarbles:

In response to your question with regard to TMH being supplemented by the Department of Homeland Security - TMH-EMS received some DHS funding for 800mhz radios (the state-wide initiative for standardized communication across all emergency organizations)as well as some Hazardous Materials equipment.

This funding was through grants written by the tmh-ems Director.

Organizations across the United States (fire departments, police departments, emergency responders, etc.) are eligible for funding for a variety of supplies and equipment that could be used in the event of a mass casualty or terrorism event(decontamination suits, decontamination equipment, tents to set up decontamination efforts in winter weather, etc.).

TMH does not receive additional supplemental funding. Any monies that are allocated to TMH from the DHS are dollars are awarded from grants that are submitted. TMH is not the recipient of any DHS guaranteed funding.

I hope this answers your question. Feel free to email or call if you need more information.

Samantha Johnston
Service Excellence Officer
(970) 826-3109
samantha.johnston@tmhcraig.org

13 August 2009 at 11:39 p.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

CindyLou (Anonymous) says…

Thanks for the input Sam. Feedback like that is always beneficial. The hospital needs to have you providing more things like this on a more regular basis. It would build better community relations. Don't get into any he said she said stuff, just answer questions and reports the facts. Thanks again.

14 August 2009 at 7:57 a.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

craiggirl (Anonymous) says…

Cindy - Sam answers questions for people all the time. I call her directly with questions instead of posting them here on the forum. Did you go to hospital's annual meeting? Did you attend the County Commissioner or City Council meetings at which TMH presented information? All of those meetings would have been good opportunities to ask questions and receive answers.

14 August 2009 at 1:31 p.m.

Suggest removal

Permalink

lostyermarbles (Anonymous) says…

Thanks Samantha for that imformation. Craiggirl, that is a good idea to go to meetings but then there are alot of people who can't go due to health, work etc. so the internet is a great tool better than not knowing. I went to a commissioner's meeting and walked out so dang mad I never went back.