On Friday’s WSJD Morning Show, Wabash General Hospital officials announced a $14.5 million capital improvement program designed to improve the delivery of rural healthcare and federally qualified healthcare services to the Mt. Carmel community.

Following a comprehensive master planning process, the Wabash General Hospital Board of Directors approved a series of campus-wide improvements to address the current needs of the hospital. Wabash General Hospital partnered with Design-Builder O’Shea Builders and BLDD Architects on the master plan. WGH has also contracted with ADG-Architecture & Design Group out of Mt. Carmel to be its owner-representative.

O’Shea Builders was founded in 1900 and is a leading commercial construction services provider in Illinois and is based in Springfield, Illinois. BLDD Architects has been in continual architectural practice since 1929 and have three regional offices in Decatur and Chicago and Davenport, Iowa.

The program includes construction of a two-story, 32,000 square foot medical office building that consolidates several physician offices into one building conveniently located adjacent to the hospital and provides the setting for a comfortable, modern delivery of oncology services. The medical office building also provides space for staff offices, conference and training rooms, and a staff lounge.

The building was designed to complement the aesthetics of the current campus but utilizes glass, natural light, and stone to provide a more modern look.

In addition to the new medical office building, the hospital’s orthopaedics buildings will undergo renovations and an addition, and the hospital’s cafeteria, business office, IT, and health information management (formerly known as medical records) and various meeting rooms will be renovated.

WGH’s President & CEO Karissa Turner stated, “Wabash General Hospital is committed to the best healthcare to Wabash and surrounding areas. The expansion and renovations we’ve been working on for the past couple years will accommodate the substantial growth we have experienced in recent years along with providing for our future. The project will focus on delivering convenient access to and superior accommodations to our customers along with focusing on providing our medical staff and staff the space and resources needed to continue to deliver exceptional quality care to our customers. We are very excited to announce this great addition to our community.”

Construction is expected to begin in summer 2020 with an anticipated completion date of summer 2021.