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caption, page 12:
Rendering
Steven and Marjolaine Townsend of Brooklyn are shown holding a rendering of the new “Townsend Emergency Medical Center” at Day Kimball Hospital; with, left to right: Donald St. Onge, DKH COO; Dr. Steven Wexler, medical director of the ED; and Richard Loomis, DKH vice chairman of the board of directors. Courtesy photo.
New DKH
ER dept.
building
underway
PUTNAM --- About one year after Day Kimball Healthcare (DKH) commenced an aggressive capital campaign that ultimately raised more than $3 million, 100 supporters gathered last week at Day Kimball Hospital to officially kick-off construction for a new, state-of-the-art emergency department (ED). The project cost is $10 million.
Project construction starts before Thanksgiving of this year and is scheduled to be completed by the fall of 2014.
The new ED will be named the Townsend Emergency Medical Center, after Steven and Marjolaine Townsend of Brooklyn who made a $500,000 contribution to the project, which was the largest of some 930 donations received from individuals and businesses throughout northeast Connecticut and beyond.
“It is very exciting to be here today for the construction kick-off,” said Steven Townsend. “We’re fortunate to be in a position to support this critical project and we are honored that our family’s name will forever be associated with the life-saving work that goes on daily at this great hospital.”
Day Kimball Hospital’s emergency department (ED), constructed in 1970 with renovations done in 1990, was designed to serve 18,000 patients per year. Today, the ED cares for approximately 30,000 people annually, with forecasts indicating that number will continue to grow.
There are two important benefits that will result from the rebuilding of the emergency department: increased space and modernization, including the critical features of 24 all-private treatment rooms including rooms specially designed for behavioral health patients, and one double-sized trauma room. A prototype room of the new ED has been constructed so that ED personnel can test the features of the new facility, to better familiarize them with the new facility and make improvement suggestions, if needed.
“There has been an enormous amount of time spent designing every detail of the new facility,” said Steven Wexler, MD, DKH medical director of the ED. “At the same time, maintaining a high standard of quality care during the construction period is just as much of a priority to all of us. I’m confident that there will be no interruption of service throughout the two-year project and that we’ll maintain the level of care our patients have come to expect.”
Robert Smanik, DKH president and CEO, said, “This effort is part of our strategic plan to offer high-quality, integrated healthcare to all the members of our community. The support that we’ve received for the new ED validates that we’re traveling in the right direction. We pledge that all our decisions will be made in the best interests of our patients.”