Joyce Heismeyer was anxious when she started giving tours this month at Allen County Hospital. Heismeyer, chief executive officer of ACH, said she thinks of the hospital “as my baby.”
“Who wants to go around pointing out how ugly their baby is?” she asked.
While the hospital building is structurally sound, its age — 60 years — and layout can cause a head-ache for employees.
Just as quickly, however, she noted that the hospital and staff — “We have a tremendous staff” — still are capable of providing quality medical care to patients.
Heismeyer spoke this week during the most recent tour of the hospital to illustrate the building’s strengths and weaknesses in preparation for the Nov.
2 general election. Allen Countians are being asked to approve a quarter-cent sales tax that would help the county qualify for financing to build and start up a new hospital.
Seven more tours are planned prior to Nov. 2: at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, 9 a.m. Oct. 11, 5:30 p.m. Oct. 12, 1:30 p.m. Oct. 17, 5 p.m. Oct. 21 and at noon Oct. 29.
“The goal is to have different times on different days to give as many people a chance to take part in the tours,” as possible, Heismeyer said.
THE TOUR starts, oddly enough, in a stairwell connecting the hospital’s first and second floors.
There, Heismeyer points out the lack of space between the second story’s floor and bottom floor’s ceiling.
At only 18 inches, the space between floors is inadequate to handle the necessary duct work to upgrade the building’s heating and ventilation systems, which would be done if the building were to undergo a full-scale renovation.
It’s also a large reason why the cost of building a new hospital — pegged at $30 million — would still be considerably less than the $34 million necessary to spend on renovations.
“And even after the renovations, you’re still looking at an old building,” Heismeyer said.
THE HOSPITAL’S infrastructure, in particular its multi-million dollar steam boilers, are nearing the end of their life span.
Actually one boiler, at 45 years old, and two others, at 25 years, all have exceeded their original expectancy.
“Those boilers were designed to last 20 years,” Heismeyer said. “That tells me our maintenance staff has done a phenomenal job of the boilers’ upkeep.”
It also illustrates the dire need to have those systems replaced, she continued.
That cost alone exceeds $7 million.
THE SURGERY wing, on the hospital’s second floor, shows both the good and bad sides of the building.
On the plus side, the design of the operating room is spacious enough for a full surgical team. A doorway, recently added into what had been a separate wound care room and an infusion center, now allows staff to serve both rooms more efficiently.
But post-operative rooms, where patients recover after surgery, are barely large enough to accommodate a twin-sized bed. Ideally, a king- or queen-sized bed would be the norm.
In addition, restrooms, while adequate, are difficult to access for wheelchair-bound patients. (That theme is repeated elsewhere throughout the building.)
Then there are the changing rooms for surgical staff. All surgeons — male and female — must walk through the men’s locker room to get to a lounge.
“They’ve learned to knock first to make sure they don’t walk in on somebody changing,” Heismeyer said. “It’s functional, and we can do a good job with it, but it’s hardly ideal. We just don’t have the space.”
THE obstetrician and gynecological wing, also on the second floor, had recently been remodeled, with new flooring and an inviting atmosphere. But again, space is an issue.
“Those restrooms aren’t ADA compliant,” Heismeyer said.
The delivery rooms, unlike their more modern counterparts, feature what Heismeyer describes as a “cold, sterile environment.”
“What you want is a more ‘homey’ and comfortable environment,” she said. The same with patients’ rooms, with barely enough room for an extra chair or two beside two beds. Visitors would prefer a comfortable couch or recliner, particularly if they are staying overnight, Heismeyer said.
“We definitely don’t have room for those.”
THE INTENSIVE CARE Unit is filled with four beds, in a semicircle from one wall to the other.
“It looks nice, but it’s really cramped,” Heismeyer said.
In a perfect world, the room would be roughly twice as large.
“You’d probably be looking at having only two beds in a room that size,” she said.
Exacerbating the ICU space issue is a row of wheelchairs, scales and other equipment placed against a wall.
“We don’t have anywhere else to put them,” she said.
The emergency room faces a similar issue.
Six bays surround a nurse’s station, with only curtains separating them.
“Privacy is a big concern, and the layout just isn’t good for the patients or the staff.”
In addition, the emergency room entrance provides the easiest access for disabled patients into the hospital. It also is where ambulances drop off and pick up patients.
“You really need to have separate entrances,” Heismeyer said. “When you’re dropping off Grandma, you could have an issue if an ambulance arrives at the same time.”
THE TOUR concludes in the hospital basement, which floods in abnormally wet weather. And the building’s main supply room is situated at the far end of a corridor.
“We keep enough supplies to work day-to-day, but if you need a large amount of gauze or whatever, you have to go to the basement,” Heismeyer said. “It’s just not a good situation.”
