What You Need, When You Need It Most

Since it was announced in October 2016, activity around Adena Regional Medical Center’s new expansion and renovation project has been full steam ahead. Every aspect of the project is being carefully planned out and thoroughly executed as construction crews and Adena staff work to deliver a state-of-the-art ER to the region.

“When the Emergency Department project came to the Adena Board of Trustees, the first question we asked was, ‘Can we afford this?’” said Steve Burkhardt, Adena Board of Trustee Chair. “Then the next question was, ‘Can we afford not to do this?’ And the answer was, ‘No, we can’t.”

Adena Interim President & CEO Dr. John Fortney echoes those sentiments, “Keeping our eye on the need and opportunities for improvement, we have made growing and enhancing our emergency care a priority. As a pediatrician in this region for more than 30 years, I know when a child is ill or injured, parents want to get that child under a provider’s care as quickly as possible. The same goes for our adult community. When time is of the essence, and emergency care is necessary, you want to be able to rely on your hometown Emergency Department to make sure you or your loved one gets the fastest, most comprehensive care available. This project, to grow, update and modernize our facility, will give patients the benefit of being cared for faster, in an environment that is conducive to comprehensive emergency care - close to home.”

In all, Adena’s new Emergency Department is not only long overdue, but will be an all-in-one center, nearly tripling in size. Adena’s current Emergency Department encompasses 16,500 square feet, and is separated into two areas for care. The new facility will be nearly 60,000 square feet, will include private rooms, specific areas for triage and observation, six additional treatment rooms and 32 more patient care areas. With more space and better flow, patients will see a provider sooner; and staff will be more efficient in managing each the care of each patient.

Danis Construction Vice President Dustin Rohrbach puts into perspective the scope of a project this size. “To put all of this together, you will see about 400 truckloads of concrete coming in for the project. Inside all of that concrete we have 200 tons of steel that gets buried inside for reinforcement. In addition, if we were to take all of the wires we lay for this project end-to-end it would run north of Columbus - about 80 miles from here. We will also top out at about 100 craftspeople in the field. That is the magnitude of the project.”

Danis and Adena have a long history together that spans over numerous projects to create the best facilities for patient care to south central Ohio.  

“We (Danis) have been a part of the 10-year transition to this campus, and executing the vision of Adena,” Rohrbach added. “That vision, to deliver care, healing and education. The care started with the northeast expansion, and is capped off by this Emergency Department expansion. The healing came when we finished the Adena Cancer Center (in 2011), and the education with the PACCAR Medical Education Center (2008). These facilities rival any across the state of Ohio.”

Over the next several months, people throughout our patients and community can expect to see aspects of the Emergency Department structure go up as the facility’s concrete super structure is poured. Phase I of the project, which includes the clinical area of the Emergency Department is expected to be complete by spring 2018, with Phase II being the lobby area and main entrance being completed around June 2019.

Be sure to check www.adena.org/ER for the latest project updates, parking information, photos and much more.