Plans are under way for a two-story, 24,000-square-foot addition (front left) at Harris Regional Hospital. The new facility's first floor will house ambulatory services like physical therapy, occupational therapy, cardiopulmonary rehabilitation and sports medicine, with the second floor for physicians' office space. WestCare Health System's $11 million expansion will require the relocation of a section of Hospital Road, said WestCare officials.
WestCare Health System's planned $11 million expansion will add 24,000 square feet of space to Harris Regional Hospital and result in the relocation of a portion of Hospital Road. Sylva's town leaders endorsed the plan July 11, and WestCare officials will present an overview of their project to Jackson County commissioners tonight (Thursday). The proposed expansion is the result of strategic planning that examined WestCare's focus as a regional health care provider and set priorities for the organization's future, said CEO Mark Leonard. One identified priority was making ambulatory services at Harris more accessible, Leonard said. That need will be addressed through the planned addition, which will house physical therapy, occupational therapy, cardiopulmonary rehabilitation and Carolina West Sports Medicine on its first floor, he said, with the second floor for physicians' office space. The new portion will connect to the existing hospital at the administrative wing, Leonard said. The decision to reroute Hospital Road grew out of the hospital's need for more room and safety concerns for hospital visitors and employees, said Lee Isley, vice president of strategic services. Plans call for the relocated Hospital Road to intersect Business 23 near WestCare's EMS base. The new segment will merge with existing Hospital Road between HRH and Sylva Medical Center, Isley said. Hospital Road will remain open to through traffic during the initial phases of construction; however, the road will be closed above Sylva Medical for four to six weeks while the two sections are connected, Isley said. During the final stage of road construction, access to Sylva Medical Center, the Community Service Center and Jackson County Schools' Central Office will be via Skyland Drive. A traffic light will be installed at the new Hospital Road/Business 23 intersection, Isley said. HRH's current entrance from Business 23 will become a private drive that the hospital will maintain, Isley said, and will provide access to the new ambulatory services building as well as to hospital visitors. Road construction is expected to be completed by December, Isley said. The total expansion project involves renovations to the surgery and recovery areas at Harris as well as expansion and renovation at WestCare's Swain County Hospital in Bryson City, Leonard said. Work at Swain will include renovation of its operating rooms, which haven't been used for surgery since Harris and Swain merged in 1997. Construction inside HRH will be completed in stages to avoid inconveniencing patients, Leonard said. "We'll have to close the operating rooms one at a time," Leonard said. "But we'll have Swain's (operating rooms) operational first so we will have that capacity if it's needed." Another WestCare priority is inpatient bed availability, Leonard said. That need will also be addressed through the planned expansion. Shifting some programs currently housed in inpatient areas to the ambulatory services building will free up staff and beds, giving the hospital more flexibility during times of peak occupancy, he said. The project will add some 150 parking spaces to the Harris campus, Leonard said, with 100 of those earmarked for the new ambulatory services center. Included in the project is the replacement of a number of out-of-date air conditioning units installed in 1968. Replacing those units will both improve patient comfort and increase efficiency, Leonard said. Expected completion date for the entire project is January 2004. WestCare officials plan to keep community members informed about upcoming changes at Harris, especially with regard to road construction and through-traffic interruptions, Leonard said. They are in the process of setting up meetings with the local health department, school system and Social Services department and are willing to meet with any interested community group, he said. Any organization or group that would like to schedule a presentation on WestCare's expansion plans may contact hospital spokesman Brian Thomas at 586-7432. WestCare Health System, which united Harris Regional and Swain County hospitals, was formed in 1997. Harris, which was the result of an undertaking initiated in 1925 by two Sylva doctors, was first located on Courthouse Hill overlooking downtown Sylva. Renamed C.J. Harris Community Hospital in 1930, the hospital expanded in 1948 with construction of the T.N. Massie wing. Plans were under way in 1958 for a new hospital at HRH's current location when fire destroyed one of the old hospital's main wings, leaving the town and county without a hospital for 35 days. A new 50-bed facility opened at HRH's present location in November 1959. Major expansions were completed in both 1971 and 1986. |