Ribbon cuttings mark opening of HCHS expansion projects

The public got their first look at new respiratory clinic additions to Hancock County Health Systems at Garner and Britt last week. Ribbon cutting and open house events were held at the Garner Medical Clinic on July 18 and at the Britt Medical Clinic on July 19.

The $3.6 million expansion projects began simultaneously at both sites in early April 2022 and were completed a year later.

The project at Britt also included expansion of the cardiovascular center.

Laura Zwiefel, HCHS CEO, explained how the COVID-19 pandemic made the need for additional safety measures apparent.

“When we were faced with the pandemic and with trying to keep our patients safe and still take care of the patients who had COVID, we realized having separate entrances and have a few more safety and infection control precautions in place was very, very important to keep staff safe, patients safe, and to be able to take care of the patients we needed to,” Zwiefel said.

Zwiefel noted the two respiratory clinics are very similar. Both have separate entrances from the main clinic entrance. Both clinics have five exam rooms, one procedure room, a testing room and two provider offices.

A triage room has a “pass through” window to the outside to reduce the risk of exposure to an infection.

 “The other things we did was to make it very versatile,” said Zwiefel. “We can shut off the clinic in the middle, or we can have the whole thing open and shut it off at the other clinic site.

“The way we have it set up, we can use it for a lot of different purposes in addition to respiratory diseases.”

The clinics utilize a new technology - indiglo lighting - in the battle against germs.

“Unlike ultraviolet lighting, which harm a human if they’re in the room with it, indiglo lighting can run all the time. It’s not harmful to people, but yet it’s very effective at killing germs on an on-going basis,” Zwiefel noted.

The clinics also have negative air flow rooms, which are useful in combating airborne viruses such as COVID or tuberculosis

Zwiefel explained, “When you are are doing air exchanges in a building, a lot of times the air pushes out from the room into the hallways. In this case, if we hit a button, it turns on a special venting unit that pulls the air from the outside and vents up to the outdoors or it can be diluted so it won’t cause any harm.”

Heart & Vascular Center

The expanded HCHS Heart and Vascular Center includes a new space for respiratory services. The Center was built within the hospital by the main entrance.

The two departments work closely together on a day-to-day basis and the move will enhance access and ease of registration to both, according to information from HCHS.

The new space includes four exam rooms, one provider office, and a larger office for respiratory care.

Funding

The total cost to add the respiratory clinics at Garner and Britt was $3,654,677. Funding sources were a $622,200 USDA Grant; $736,976 American Rescue Plan Funding; and $2,295,501 internal funds.

Zweifel noted that the USDA Grant and American Rescue Plan funding “made it possible for us to fund the balance out of our operations.”

The total cost of the Heart & Vascular Center was $756,473. Funding sources included a $254,631 in SHIP American Rescue Plan Grant and $501,842 from internal funds.

Accord Architecture was the project architect. Henkel Construction was awarded bid as contractor.