MADISON – Soon after its fifth anniversary, Madison Hospital started an ambitious expansion project to meet patients’ needs.

“We believed when we opened the doors that we would eventually need to add capacity. However, we didn’t know it would occur this quickly,” Madison Hospital President Mary Lynne Wright said.

The expansion of 20,000 square feet includes two-bay MRI suite, radiology reading room for doctors, additional ERs, 22 medical/surgical private rooms and eight ICU rooms.

Construction has started for a magnetic resonance imaging or MRI suite in shell space adjacent to the Imaging Department. “MRI technology is so advanced and is an efficient diagnostic tool. Our current machine isn’t capable of performing some advanced studies. This (new technology) will provide more access for our community, closer to home,” she said.

“We will install a new state-of-the-art MRI and then relocate our current MRI to the suite. Then, we will install a new nuclear medicine camera,” Wright said.

In addition, the hospital will add two emergency rooms, due to ever-increasing volume of patients. Wright expects their ER to treat 52,000 patients in 2017, an increase of 20,000 from the hospital’s first year.

The next phase will be 30 more patient beds, using shell space on Floors 4 and 5.

“When we built the hospital, we intentionally designed shell space for future growth,” Wright said. For additional beds, Madison Hospital satisfied state requirements, which include 80-percent occupancy for a specified number of days. “We knew it was time.”

Work began on Imaging and ER on March 20. Bed construction will start in June. Estimated completion date is late fall 2017. The price tag is approximately $9 million for construction and equipment.

The original designers, Chapman Sisson Architects, and original general contractors, Robins & Morton, are handling the expansion. “We have a great relationship with both companies,” Wright said. “They understand what it takes to do construction when you’re also running a hospital and taking care of patients every day.”

Wright is very happy about the growth, which “means we’re providing high quality, patient/family-focused care and meeting the community’s needs.”

Realistically, she knows a few challenges will arise. “However, we’ll survive them! We will communicate with our patients and hospital team about what we’re doing and will do everything we can to not disturb patients with the construction process,” Wright said.  

Construction should be seamless to patients and visitors, with no disruption to hospital access.