Casting a Vision for the Future of Healthcare for Hillsboro and Montgomery County
Quality healthcare is at the cornerstone of a healthy community. At Hillsboro Area Hospital (HAH), providing affordable and accessible quality care, delivered using innovative technology continues to be our primary mission. The HAH Revitalization is a Green Project . We will be adding 12,180 square feet of interior space to accommodate the relocation of the Emergency Department, which improves efficiency and the overall experience for the patient and their family. Our goal is to set new standards for sustainable facility design and construction which involves conserving natural resources, enhancing the quality of work life for our staff and significantly reducing life cycle costs.
FAQ's
Healthcare is no longer seen as a service we seek in times of illness. Today, more and more of us view wellness as a necessity in the way we live. A strong and viable hometown healthcare system plays an important role in rural economies.
By providing comprehensive medical services here, you have access to accredited health care only minutes away, local dollars are kept in your community, many community members are spared the high costs and time associated with commuting for their care and you are able to have the peace of mind that you or your loved ones can be taken care of quickly should a health issue arise.
A viable healthcare system in Hillsboro and for all of the Montgomery County communities will help to attract new physicians and allied health professionals, new residents and businesses. Critical Access Hospitals (CAH) in Illinois and throughout the United States are revitalizing healthcare in their communities through renovation and replacement hospital facilities. Below are some of the initial questions associated with a revitalization project.
Q: Why is Hillsboro Area Hospital undergoing a major revitalization project at this time?
A: As with many aging facilities facing new demands and needs for upgrades and space, there is a point at which options must be explored to expand and improve. In 2007, the Hillsboro Area Hospital Board of Directors and leadership team invited 125 community members to take part in a series of ‘visioning' sessions and participate in the process to design the hospital's future. One major component resulting from the visioning sessions was the need for a new emergency department that will help us better serve the growing demands for emergency care. We also identified the need to better accommodate the privacy and confidentiality requirements and standards set for healthcare providers today. There were other extremely positive directions that came out of the community visioning meetings. A sampling of the directions provided to the hospital for improving the lives of the residents of Montgomery County included:
• Enhancing the quality of life in Montgomery County
• Continuing to Provide Affordable Personalized Care
• Improving Traffic Flow and Parking Site Access
• Increasing Operational Efficiencies through Technology
• Increase our Specialty Care as needed in the area
• Improve Patient Areas through revitalization and new construction
Q: What is unique about the HAH revitalization project?
A: Another outcome from our community visioning meetings was the recommendation that Hillsboro Area Hospital become a leader in supporting a healthy environment in the county. To accomplish this, we engaged the services of Vertegy, a nationally known environmental consulting firm, to work with the architects, contractor and hospital through every step of the development process and provide us with design, procurement and construction consulting services for a GREEN and sustainable facility.
A green and sustainable facility design and construction involves conserving natural resources, enhancing the quality of work life for our staff and significantly reducing life cycle costs. One of the very unique aspects about the project is that 50% of the materials demolished will be recycled and reused in the revitalization. The hospital has set an environmental goal to attain award winning status with this project by following directions and recommendations from Vertegy. We expect Hillsboro Area Hospital will become a Gold Standard LEED facility (U.S. Green Building Council's LEED® Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design designation) and join the four other hospitals in the nation that have achieved this level of environmental recognition.
Q: Will our taxes be increased to fund and sustain the building project?
A: NO. As a private not-for-profit hospital, we receive zero tax dollars for hospital operations. There will not be, and cannot be, any special tax assessments imposed on our community for this building project.
Q: Hillsboro Area Hospital is known as a Critical Access Hospital (CAH). What is a CAH?
A: Hillsboro Area Hospital is an independent, Joint Commission Accredited, not-for-profit hospital and not part of any other healthcare organization. We are also a Critical Access Hospital or CAH, which means the Federal Government recognizes Hillsboro Area Hospital as a rural, acute care hospital that has met federal program certification requirements, provides standard services, maintains a daily in-patient census count of 25 or fewer, and an average length of stay that does not exceed four days. By voluntarily limiting its overall inpatient volumes, a CAH receives cost based reimbursement from Medicare for hospital services. Medicare pays 101% of reasonable costs for services provided to Medicare patients. Reasonable service costs can include salaries, supplies, equipment, and building costs.
Q: How will the revitalization project be funded and how much will it cost?
A: CAH Revitalization Projects are seen favorably in today's markets and Hillsboro Area Hospital has performed very well for a number of years. As a result, in the eyes of lenders, the hospital is in a strong financial position. Funding will be made possible primarily through tax-exempt bonds provided by local and regional banks and also by a combination of our current assets, cash reserves, operational revenue and donations. The estimated cost for the revitalization is $7.5 million.
Q: What are some of the major changes we can expect?
A: We will be adding 12,180 square feet of interior space to accommodate the relocation of the Emergency Department, which improves efficiency and the overall experience for the patient and their family. Privacy is such an important aspect of healthcare today. With this new addition, we will have private admitting office suites.
Q: What areas will be demolished and when will the project begin?
A: The north wing of the hospital will be demolished to make way for the improvements. Once the area is made ready for construction, the building will begin. Demolition of the north wing is expected to begin during the last week of August.
Q: How long will it take to complete the new building?
A: We anticipate that after all of the preliminary steps are complete and from the time demolition of the affected area occurs, it will take approximately 14 months for completion.
Q: Will any services be interrupted during the project?
A: No, services will not be interrupted; however, the parking configuration will change for the duration of the project and so too will the public access entrance to the Emergency Room. Emergency Room access will be temporarily located on the west side of the hospital. There will be clear signage throughout the campus to indicate these changes.
