Since announcing the project of a lifetime 18 months ago, Providence Medical Center has seen the completion of several milestones in its substantial construction and renovation project.
Being the health care hub of the region requires a certain caliber of facility, to which PMC has happily obliged, even prior to its most recent undertaking.
The original 1975 hospital’s footprint had been added onto as early as 1980 and PMC has continued to meet the growing needs in the healthcare industry with additions, renovations, technology updates and recruitment of quality physicians.
In its dedication to providing quality care, PMC realized that the extent of cosmetic and minor renovations had been reached requiring the next project to be all-encompassing.
Providence has done just that with the addition of a dedicated emergency department, ful renovation of the ancillary services wing, upgrades to patient rooms, redesign of the nurses' station and the relocation of the hospital chapel, to name a few.
And those are the things that are easily visible. Behind the scenes, an all new electrical system is more than capable of handling today’s and the future’s technologies and a state-of-the-art facility-wide fire detection and sprinkler system is being installed.
All of these upgrades and improvements are necessary for the growth of the hospital and for its providers to have every opportunity available to them to save lives.
The hospital announced a capital campaign last week as an effort to raise the remaining $2.5 million in funding necessary to complete the work.
Wayne Area Economic Development director Wes Blecke spoke at the Chamber coffee where the announcement was made. His account of the hospital’s economic impact to Wayne shed some light on the importance of the facility.
“Over $10 million has been spent on construction and equipment over the last five years by the hospital,” Blecke said. “That doesn’t count the current project.”
Blecke went on to give some statistics that were a surprise to many in the audience, including that Providence is the third largest employer in Wayne, second only to Great Dane Trailers and Wayne State College.
He discussed the regional reach of the hospital with its wide variety of services.
“The regional reach is there through outpatient services, through the home health and AMPS therapy programs. So it’s not just Wayne dollars being recirculated.”
Providence CEO Jim Frank also spoke briefly at the coffee to give a progress update and to say thank you.
“I want to thank the community, and our staff, for their patience during this construction project,” said Frank. “ Working through construction is not easy, and our staff has done a great job keeping the focus on the patient, regardless of the physical working environment.”
Frank discussed the current phase of construction which has laboratory and radiology areas, “B” wing and nurses' station being remodeled before he gave a tentative March of 2018 project completion date.
While the official campaign didn’t kick off until Friday, several had already pledged gifts to the hospital.
“We are pleased to announce that with these gifts and others, $1.2 million of our $2.5 million goal has been raised. We’re off to a great start,” said campaign chairGalen Wiser. “I thank those who have generously contributed so far, and I encourage others to get involved in this effort.”
Wiser said he volunteered for the position because of his close relationship with the hospital.
“I volunteered to lead this campaign we’re calling ‘Quality Care, Close to Home,’ because I believe that the role PMC plays in providing quality healthcare for our families, friends and neighbors is a critical one,” said Wiser. “It certainly has been important to me personally. I want to give back to an organization that literally saved my life.”
Campaign Steering Committee member Alan Harms announced the spearheading donors at the coffee, starting with the lead donor.
“We are grateful for these early gifts to the ‘Quality Care, Close to Home’ campaign,” Harms said. “We are celebrating our lead gift of $500,000 from the Louis and Abby Faye Dinklage Foundation of Wisner. The hospital’s “B” wing will be named in their honor.”
Among the remaining early donors spearheading the campaign were Providence Medical Center Foundation, Bill Claybaugh Family, David and Donna Ewing, Citizens State Bank (Laurel and Wisner), Elkhorn Valley Bank, Bob and Debbie Ensz, State Nebraska Bank & Trust, Dr. Keith and Jaclyn Vollstedt and Security Bank (Laurel).
“Several areas of the hospital will be named through these gifts,” said Sandra Bartling, PMC Foundation President. “PMC fills a great need for our communities, and we are grateful for the support we are receiving. There are many reasons to give to this campaign. The renovations to PMC will impact all of us who are fortunate enough to be living in this corner of the world for generations.”
