The new facility will be constructed adjacent to the main St. Joseph campus in Bryan, just to the right of the main entrance. Construction will begin in August is expected to be complete in the summer of 2004.

The tower will offer new space for support services such as pharmacy, house a new day surgery unit, 36 critical care beds and 36 medical/surgical beds, complete with new equipment and furniture. It will feature a large open lobby area with a registration desk and an outpatient entrance for ambulatory surgery and imaging patients.

The new tower, designed by Watkins, Hamilton, Ross Architects of Houston, is set up to allow greater access and open space. “In the design we have worked to open the space up, make it bright and relaxing, but offer our guests more privacy as they wait for family members,” said Dan Buche, SJRHC Chief Executive Officer.

The first floor will have four new surgical suites dedicated to outpatient procedures with 42 patient recovery rooms for surgery and heart procedure patients. Patients who come in for day surgery will be able to check in at the registration desk in the new tower area without having to go into the main hospital. Other amenities will include a patient drop-off where St. Joseph staff will offer assistance in parking patient’s cars and a guest check-in desk located in the new lobby. Additionally, there are plans for an electronic check-in station for day surgery patients, similar to an electronic check in at an airport.

The second floor will house a 36-bed critical care unit, which will have intensive care beds and cardiac care beds to care for critically ill patients and those patients coming from open-heart procedures. The new unit will feature larger private rooms for critical care patients, and rooms that have been designed to provide more space for family members visiting patients.

The third floor will have 36 general surgical beds for patients recovering from surgery or being treated for a variety of illnesses. All rooms will be private and are design to provide the patient with a relaxing room that looks more like a hotel room than a hospital room.

The new tower is designed in phases so that two additional floors can be added by the end of the decade, if demand for medical services continues at a high rate. To provide a buffer for the possible construction of two more floors, the fourth floor of the new tower will be left as shell space and be finished out at a later time.

“We recognize our hospital has, during the busiest seasons of the year, been very full and sometimes it has been hard to get a bed for a patient,” said Buche. “We know with steady population growth and the aging of the baby boomer generation there will be an increasing need for health services in our community. This Tower Project is our recognition of that need and a continuation of the 65 years of commitment the Sisters of St. Francis have made to all of the residents of the region.”

Buche pointed out that the tower project is the largest single commitment the hospital has ever made to the community. “This is what needs to be done to assure people have access to health care here in our community, but it’s a huge decision for us. A big part of the commitment came from the faith that the community will support this construction through contributions to the project and their use of our services.”

While the tower is being constructed, work will continue to complete the remodeling of all patient rooms in the original SJRHC facility. That work should be completed by early 2003.

In Phase II of the expansion project, the additional space SJRHC gains when the tower beds come on line will allow for the hospital to look at the possibilities for reconfiguring some of the space in the original facility. Although no definite plans have been made, there is the possibility of reorganizing and enhancing women’s services by adding more birthing suites and enlarging the nursery.

The tower’s location will immediately eliminate some guest parking spaces as construction begins, but Buche pointed out the 6-floor parking garage was built with future growth in mind and has spaces to accommodate more guest parking. Additional surface parking spaces are being opened up for guests and St. Joseph employees.

Construction to relocate utility lines will begin immediately. A formal groundbreaking with construction immediately following will be held in early August.

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