Pandemic didn’t stop Emergency Center expansion opening on time
July 9, 2020
Hospital team expresses appreciation for community support of construction project
Hudson, Wis. – Hudson Hospital & Clinic’s new Emergency Center expansion is now open to patients. The first patient to be seen in the fully-open and renovated space was treated on Monday, June 22.
The construction project took 273 days from groundbreaking to fully operational. Led by Kraus-Anderson, the expansion almost doubled the square footage of the Emergency Center and increased the number of patient care rooms to 12.
“What makes this project all the more extraordinary is that it happened in the middle of a global pandemic,” said Tom Borowski, President, Hudson Hospital & Clinic. “Rising above any pandemic is the gratitude and appreciation we feel for our community, who pledged their support to our hospital throughout this project.”
Mina Boury is a Hudson resident who visited the expanded and renovated Emergency Center during its first few days of being fully open. She needed care after tripping and suffering a head injury while out with her dogs. As she did not want to leave her dogs in her car, she was very thankful to see a hospital employee outside the Emergency Center to guide patients and family members – and asked if she could leave the dogs with him while she got treatment. It was only later that Ms. Boury learned from her nurse that the dog-sitting employee was none other than the hospital president, Tom Borowski.
“I didn’t have a clue who he was,” she laughed. “But when I found out, I couldn’t believe he was doing that for me. I was so grateful. I’ve had several experiences in the Emergency Room at Hudson Hospital before. I have always been very pleased with my care and very impressed with everyone I have encountered. And this last time, they really went above and beyond.”
About $1 million of the $5 million cost of the construction project came from community donations or grants. Linda Robertson and Warren Schneider, long-time Hudson residents who have used the hospital and Emergency Center for care, supported the fundraising campaign.
“We’ve witnessed the many ways that Hudson Hospital & Clinic has contributed to this community and the new Emergency Center is another commitment for the good of the community,” said Linda. “We supported the expansion not just for us, but for the health and well-being of the whole community.”
The project took about eight months – start to finish – and was completed in three phases. It improves security and access to the Emergency Center and creates an enhanced healing environment for patients, family members and visitors. There are more patient care rooms – greatly needed because of the significant increase in Emergency Center patients since the hospital was built in 2003. And the rooms are larger, creating better work spaces for the interdisciplinary care teams who treat patients and for the portable modern equipment.
“Project communication and planning were extremely important on this project as the pandemic hit during the heart of the remodel of the existing Emergency Department. We immediately worked together with Hudson Hospital to ensure our COVID-19 policies and procedures were in sync to protect patients, staff and construction workers,” said Mike Stark, Kraus-Anderson project manager. “Kraus-Anderson is thankful to have played a role in providing a new space for Hudson Hospital to serve their patients, staff and community.”
By the numbers: Emergency Center expansion
- 7,522: square feet in the construction project
- 273: days between groundbreaking and first patient
- 12: new or fully updated patient care rooms
- 4: bathrooms
- 26: subcontractors
- 10: planned utility shutdowns
- 1: tons of structure steel
- 7,600: feet of piping for plumbing, hydronic piping, storm water and medical gas
- 68,000: feet of wire
- 350: electrical outlets
- 65: plumbing fixtures
- 35: doors
About Hudson Hospital & Clinic
Hudson Hospital & Clinic is part of HealthPartners, the largest consumer-governed, non-profit health care organization in the nation with a mission to improve health and well-being in partnership with members, patients and the community. Hudson Hospital & Clinic joined HealthPartners in 2009, and serves western Wisconsin with emergency, birth, rehabilitation and imaging centers, specialty clinics, cancer care, heart care, orthopedics and a nationally acclaimed healing arts program. For more information, visit hudsonhospital.org.
About Kraus-Anderson
Established in 1897, Kraus-Anderson (www.krausanderson.com) is one of the nation’s premier commercial general contractors and construction managers, which has been leading the charge in sustainable design and construction for the last 25 years. With deep experience in healthcare construction, the company is currently ranked 14th in the nation among the top health care general contractors in the U.S. by Modern Healthcare magazine.