Year In Review: Greenwood County Hospital Edition
This year was an eventful year for Greenwood County Hospital (GWCH). We saw numerous changes geared towards treating patients, creating better access to care, or in creating comfort for those patients staying at GWCH as well as creating better comfort for our staff.
In January, we learned that Care Arc would be closing the clinic across the street from the GWCH. We worked quickly in conjunction with the County Commissioners to secure the purchase of the clinic. The hospital applied for and received funding from the State of Kansas in the form of a rural hospital innovation grant to help with the purchase. This grant was $200,000. Our community showed its support through generous donations for another $215,000 leaving the hospital to cover the remaining $185,000 for the purchase of the building. In March, the hospital did small renovations of the building and then moved the Eureka Clinic staff into the building. Many of the staff who were employed by CareArc were hired to work for the hospital in the new Eureka Clinic location. Another small renovation to the previous dental clinic portion of the building completed the renovations of the building and Dr. Basham was moved into the newly renovated space.
Once the clinic was moved into the new building, Wound Care services were moved into the old Eureka Clinic space and outpatient registration was moved into the reception area of the new Wound Care clinic space. The infusion clinic was moved out of the patient family room at the front of the hospital and relocated into the Wound Care clinic as well.
To round out the relocations, the previous wound care provider office was renovated to become a waiting room for both the laboratory and radiology departments.
The heating and cooling project (HVAC) started in September of 2023 was completed in October of 2024. The cooling portion of the project was brought online in July 2024 and the heating portion in October. With the completion of that project, GWCH in conjunction with Trane, started filing for the Energy Savings tax rebate. That rebate is approximately $525,000. Receipt of the rebate should arrive around late March or early April 2025. The HVAC was the first of two phases and was designed to create better control of the temperature in the facility. The project also incorporated the replacement of all lighting fixtures in the facility with energy- efficient LED fixtures. The hospital has in turn seen a reduction in both the electric bill and gas bill for the hospital.
The GWCH Foundation paid for all the materials to renovate patient rooms on the south wing of the inpatient floor. The renovations included new wall coverings, light fixtures, paint, wallpaper, and new privacy curtains. The objective was to create a warmer, more inviting environment for patients staying in the hospital.
Additionally, GWCH paid for renovations to an existing space adjacent to the rehabilitation space and the Foundation paid for new equipment for the renovated space. The objective was to create more space for the rehabilitation program to provide more service to our community.
In an effort to keep up with the changing landscape of health care, the hospital began looking for a new electronic medical record. A decision was made to go with Oracle Health through the hospital’s management company Great Plains Health Alliance. That project kicked off in early November and a go-live date for the new software is set for June 2, 2025.
Finally, the hospital contracted with a pain management company to provide pain management services using a previous OR room in the hospital. Those services are set to begin in late January 2025.
Each change and decision made was a step taken to ensure that GWCH will be available for community members when they need care. Our objective is to ensure services the community needs and desires are available to them and that the facility provides a comfortable, healing environment.
The hospital will continue to review equipment needs, service lines, and facility needs in the coming year to ensure that patients have access to necessary, needed services with the most up-to-date equipment. Our mission is to provide high-quality, compassionate care to the communities that we serve, and our expectation is to continue that mission for years to come.
