Saturday, May 08, 1999
Mercy grows with pace of Fairfield
Hospital expansion begins
BY RANDY McNUTT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
FAIRFIELD — Mercy Hospital Fairfield has started a $10 million expansion that will include two new floors with 25,000 square feet.
“The expansion is a result of the community's growth,” said spokeswoman Lesia Golden. “It's a significant one for a smaller hospital. But there's a need. They're doing about 5,000 procedures a year, which is a lot for a community hospital with an ambulatory surgery center adjacent to it. The center does a lot of the outpatient work.”
When the project is completed in about a year, the hospital will have:
• Four new operating rooms.
• New patient pre-operating area and private intake area with individual lockers.
• New post-anesthesia care unit and discharge unit.
• New sterile processing area and expanded sterile supply and equipment area, designed to accommodate future growth.
Also, a waiting area specifically for surgery patients' families will be built. Ms. Golden said this is a frequent request from patients and family members.
“The expansion will allow Mercy Fairfield to do more in many areas,” Ms. Golden said.
Mercy Fairfield's expansion continues a string of improve ments at the hospital.
In 1996, the hospital opened the Mercy Family Birth Center.
In 1998, the hospital opened a new lobby and the Mercy Center for Health and Wellness. The 200,000-square foot Health and Wellness Center is called the first in the United States to bring under one roof traditional medical services and the growing field of alternative, or integrative medicine.
The center's HealthPlex offers a variety of activities, from tennis to kick boxing, and athletic leagues, said Lisa Batchelder, administrative assistant at HealthPlex.
“We're doing really well,” she said.
Originally, the hospital had plenty of room for expansion because it was located in a semi-rural area along Mack Road.
Since then, the area has developed extensively with offices and retail stores.
Ms. Golden said she expects expansions to continue.
“They're looking at an expanded maternity unit,” she said.
“It reflects Fairfield's growth. When the hospital opened in 1978, it was supposed to be an ancillary hospital. But as Fairfield boomed, the hospital grew along with it. The city needed a full-service hospital.”
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