STARKVILLE — Nearly 18 months after Oktibbeha County voters approved a $27.5 million bond issue to pay for the expansion of Oktibbeha County Hospital, the project broke ground Tuesday during a ceremony at the facility on Hospital Road.
A host of citizens, business leaders, city and county officials, hospital administrators and employees attended the ceremony. Officials also unveiled the hospital”s new name, OCH Regional Medical Center, and logo.
It was an exciting day for OCH Regional Medical Center CEO Arthur “Sonny” Kelly.
“This is a day that has culminated (from) a lot of time and effort on the parts of a lot of people over the last year,” Kelly said.
The expansion and renovation will make the 35-year-old hospital “state-of-the-art,” Kelly said, and give the facility a new depreciated value of just three or four years old.
“It will be one of the crown jewels of Oktibbeha County, as far as an asset is concerned,” Kelly said.
When the project is complete, which Kelly estimated will be by February 2012, OCH Regional Medical Center will feature a new intensive care/cardiac care unit; a new women”s center, which will accommodate the obstetrical care unit, including new labor, delivery and recovery suites, patient triage and observation rooms, C-section rooms and recovery areas, and a newborn nursery and viewing area. The women”s center also will feature an enlarged nurses station and new waiting areas for families and their guests.
Among other improvements, the hospital will feature enlarged and refurbished patient rooms and a new tower, which will contain more patient rooms, nurses stations, waiting areas, elevators and restrooms. It also will feature a new covered drop-off/pick-up area. A new multi-tiered parking deck, featuring an additional 235 spaces, also is planned.
“Today I have the honor to realize a dream,” said Walter Williams, chairman of the OCH board of trustees. “You know, it”s all right to have a dream. Several months ago the administrators and the board of trustees had a dream, but the dream is always good if it can become a reality. This dream was a reality because we have a great (county) Board of Supervisors who believe in the board of trustees. But all this would not be possible without the citizens of this great county of Oktibbeha. So, to the citizens of Oktibbeha County, we cheer you and may God continue to bless you.”
Williams also was excited about the facility”s new name.
“We decided with the new building and the new progress that we”re making at this facility, that we need to consider all of the patients that were being served by this facility,” Williams said of the switch to OCH Regional Medical Center. “We found that this facility not only served the patients of Oktibbeha County, but of many of the neighboring counties.”
Nearly 40 percent of patients to OCH reside outside of Oktibbeha County.
Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors President Marvell Howard also was thrilled with the potential of the new facilities.
“The need has been established,” Howard said. “The vision was also established to eliminate that need. The decision was made (for) the people of the county, for their health. The answer was: We care about quality health care for Oktibbeha County and, yes, we will help make it happen. So here we are today at this groundbreaking ceremony.”
“I consider health care one of the main ingredients that helps any county to thrive,” he added. “Our support for the Oktibbeha County Hospital is support that is well-deserved and also needed.”
In November 2008, 61 percent of voters in Oktibbeha County approved a measure for the county to issue up to $27.5 million in bonds to pay for renovation and expansion of OCH. The Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors in February accepted a construction bid from Brasfield and Gorrie LLC, of Birmingham, Ala., to complete the project at a cost of $23.29 million.
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