VINCENNES, Ind. (WTHI) – Good Samaritan will unveil to the
public its newly built Gibault Memorial patient tower Wednesday following
nearly five years of planning and construction.
Hospital administrators hosted a ribbon cutting at 3:30 Wednesday afternoon.
Hundreds showed up to watch the monumental occasion. Rob McLin, Good Samaritan
CEO, stood next to hospital board member, Rowe Sargent as the two cut
the ribbon to usher in the new era.
“This is just the culmination of being able to have a facility that
provides the technology that compares with the people that we’ve
got inside,” McLin stated.
The massive 200,000 sq. ft. patient tower will host 120 patient beds, as
well as a new wing for prenatal and obstetrics care. It will also feature
the likes of a cardiac catheterization laboratory and a clinical decision
unit. The project, when originally announced, was expected to take approximately
five years and cost around $100 million dollars, rolling out in 5 phases;
giving the hospital a contemporary look.
“We’re now at a point where we’ve actually been able
to open it up. We’ll start seeing our first patients coming through
on the 24th of this month,” added McLin.
Patients will transition from the old tower on a rotation, McLin stated,
with the first round being the intensive care unit. Administrators hope
to have the majority of the patients moved in by August. From there, though,
the work continues, director of engineering, Don Page explained.
“Once we get the patients moved, where the patients are currently
located in the east tower, we’ll start a renovation phase there
that will take place over the next 15-16 months,” Page said. Some
of the old patient rooms will be remodeled and utilized as office space.
Page, who has oversaw the entire project, noted its significance.
“Being able to say you’ve been a part of something of this
magnitude is pretty rewarding,” Page said.
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