Gunnison Valley Hospital begins major update, expansion
nursing officer; Merri Lynn Sorensen and Greg Rosenvall, board members; Jayden Hartle, assistant controller; and Liz Brown, human resources director.
(Photo Courtesy Gunnison Valley Hospital)
GUNNISON—For decades. Gunnison Valley Hospital has cared for the community from the same rooms and kitchens. Now the hospital is embarking on an update needed to carry that care into the future.
On Wednesday, Aug. 26, the hospital broke ground on a major expansion and renovation that will replace inpatient rooms, expand maternity services and bring a new entrance, kitchen and café to the hospital.
Employees, community members, local leaders, health care providers and hospital supporters gathered for the groundbreaking, which CEO Brenda Bartholomew said “represents a massive leap forward for Gunnison Valley Hospital and the communities we serve.
“By replacing our 1970s inpatient rooms and kitchen,” she said, “we are matching our physical facility to the high level of modern, compassionate care our staff provides every day.”
The project will add 10,933 square feet of finished space to the west side of the hospital. The new area will include 13 patient rooms, which Bartholomew said would promote comfort, privacy, healing and family involvement.
She said the updated space would also provide nurses, physicians and other caregivers with an environment designed to better support patient care.
There will be several significant additions, Bartholomew said, including a dedicated cesarean section suite, a new nursery, and an additional labor, delivery and recovery room.
The project also will give the hospital a new facade. The north-side entrance will be redesigned with a new lobby and admitting area intended to provide patients with more privacy when checking in and make the entrance easier to find. A new cafeteria and kitchen will sit next to the lobby, while the gift shop will remain nearby.
The hospital’s original kitchen, which dates to 1970, will be replaced with a modern facility. And Bartholomew added, “We want the café to be a gathering place where people feel welcome.”
Hospital officials said the project is about more than new walls and updated rooms.
Liz Brown, director of human resources, said the hospital’s employees are deeply connected to the communities they serve.
“When I think about Gunnison Valley Hospital, I don’t think first about our buildings, I think about our people,” Brown said. “Our employees live here, raise their families here and care for people they know and love. They are the heart of this hospital.”
“There is something special about rural healthcare because there is a personal connection,” Bartholomew added. “Our patients aren’t just patients, they are our neighbors, our friends and sometimes our own family members.”