Breaking Ground on New Emergency Department

A groundbreaking ceremony will be held outside of the current emergency department on Wednesday, May 31, 2023 at 4 pm. The ceremony marks the beginning of the multi-phase project that is expected to take approximately 14 months and will conclude later in 2024.

“Our Emergency Services Facilities Renovation and Expansion will take place in phases,” explained Chief Executive Officer Doug Faus. ​“We will continue to treat patients and respond to emergencies throughout the entire construction process. Once completed we will have the ability to care for more patients with increased safety precautions, larger waiting and treatments spaces and a better flow of patient care.”

Once completed, improvements will include: 

• A new entrance to the emergency department.
• A new ambulance garage.
• 13 full-size treatment rooms.
• Four rooms with complete isolation capabilities.
• An enlarged waiting area with room for overflow.
• An exam room designed to treat behavioral health needs safely in the emergency department.
• An anteroom and decontamination room.
• Updating existing HVAC to provide control over negative air pressure in specific arears of the department.

Phase one of the project will focus on establishing the new emergency department entrance, the new ambulance garage and expansion. 

“During the COVID-19 pandemic, our waiting and treatment areas were overwhelmed,” Emergency Department Director Erin Rumsey said. ​“We are still caring for more patients needing a higher level of care and we need to expand and upgrade our facility to meet the needs of those patients.”

Patients and visitors can expect to see construction presence outside and around the emergency department beginning in early May as construction staging and initial fencing is put up. 

In mid-May, the emergency department entrance, door #6, will be shifted several feet to the east of its current location.

By June, construction equipment will be digging on site and temporary access roads will be put in place for construction vehicles. During this time, patient and ambulance access should remain minimally affected. 

First responders will receive advance notice from Ivinson’s Communication team for construction that impacts emergency operations. Impacts to patients will be communicated through Ivinson’s social media pages (Facebook, Instagram and Twitter), the hospital website, as well as additional signage that will guide patients and visitors to our facility. 

Ivinson’s Emergency Facilities Expansion and Renovation has received some grant funding from the state for health and human services capital construction projects, but will need to raise additional capital from public donations to fully complete the project. The Ivinson Memorial Hospital Foundation launched their capital campaign earlier this year in support of funding the Ivinson Emergency Services Facility Expansion and Renovation. 

More information about giving to the Ivinson Foundation and the Emergency Services Facility Expansion and Renovation can be found at the Ivinson Memorial Hospital Foundation website.