Work to construct three new operating rooms is about to begin at Herrin Hospital.
Officials from the hospital and Southern Illinois Healthcare as well as community leaders gathered Wednesday for a groundbreaking on the nearly 24-million dollar project.
Hospital administrator Terence Farrell says this is more than a bricks and mortar project. He says it's a reflection of the trust the community has in the hospital.
"We know that we can bring them convenience, we can bring that quality of care and people will respond. As we've done that, our services have grown. The volume of patients have grown to the point where now we're busting at the seams. We have to continue to grow the walls, grow the programs and our own staff to help support those people and keep them close to home."
The volume of patients have grown to the point where now we're busting at the seams. We have to continue to grow the walls, grow the programs and our own staff to help support those people and keep them close to home. - Herrin Hospital Administrator Terence Farrell
The hospital's surgical center manager Tynette Jansen says the expansion will improve the hospital's quality of care because the existing operating rooms are too small to accommodate today's larger pieces of equipment.
"So, you want to have enough room to maintain the sterile, aseptic environment while team members travel around that equipment. So, larger OR's enable us to have more of that equipment in there."
Hospital officials say the expansion is also necessary to meet the growing demand. During 2013, Herrin Hospital performed more than four-thousand surgeries and minor procedures. The hospital predicts that will increase to nearly six-thousand by 2019.
Total construction time to build the three new OR's and renovate four existing ones will take about three years. The new rooms should be open by October of 2016.