$40 Million Surgical Tower Groundbreaking at St. Mary Medical Center

NW-view-SMMC-additionOn Wednesday, May 14, from 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Mayor Brian Snedecor and hospital officials will officially launch construction of a new $40 million surgical pavilion addition to St. Mary Medical Center, 1500 S. Lake Park Ave., in Hobart. The four-story building marks the largest addition to the hospital’s Hobart campus in more than 10 years. The groundbreaking ceremony will include remarks by Snedecor, hospital CEO, Janice Ryba; Community Healthcare System COO, John Gorski; and president of the hospital’s medical staff, Thomas Golubski, MD. Reverend Thomas Mischler will perform the blessing.

The Surgical Pavilion/ICU addition will add more than 113,000 square feet to St. Mary Medical Center. More than 45,000 square feet will be dedicated to the new surgical department on the first floor. The second floor will house a brand new, 20-bed intensive care unit. The third and fourth floors will be shelled-in for an additional 40,000 square feet, allowing the hospital flexibility to meet future patient care needs. The project is expected to be complete in summer 2015.

“Our surgical pavilion is the most complex project we’ve undertaken to date,” said hospital CEO Janice Ryba. “Our focus is to maintain and grow a solid surgical department by creating space to accommodate future technologies and developments. We also will be providing a comfortable, healing environment for patients and families in our new intensive care unit.”

During construction, the hospital will continue to utilize its current surgical and intensive care facilities without disruption. The initial phase of the project will be to complete the 20-bed ICU located on the second floor of the new building. Once complete, patients from the current ICU will be transferred to the new unit and construction of the new operating suites, recovery rooms and family lounge will begin on the first floor. Other services, including the same day surgery, endoscopy services and sterile processing, also will be located in the new building.

“We’ve met with staff, physicians, patients and families to ensure we’ve met their expectations for comfort, efficiency and outcomes in this new pavilion,” added Ryba. “We also want to have the flexibility to grow and modify spaces as the changing healthcare needs of our patients dictate.”

Walsh Construction is the general contractor for the project which was designed by VOA Inc.