Advocate Eureka dedicates new hospital addition
Chronicle Media — January 15, 2016
Illinois Lt. Gov. Evelyn Sanguinetti (left) gets a tour of the new patient care addition at Advocate Eureka Hospital during a dedication ceremony on Jan. 14. Sanguinetti was one of the many public officials in attendance. (Photo courtesy Advocate Eureka and Lt. Gov. Evelyn Sanguinetti)
Advocate Eureka Hospital will open its new 28,000 square-foot addition for patient care on Jan. 26.
The addition was dedicated in a ceremony on Jan. 14 with representatives of Advocate Eureka, along with Woodford County and the state officials, including Lt. Gov. Evelyn Sanguinetti, in attendance.
The Rev. Mollie Ward blessed the unit by sprinkling water using a branch from the Christmas tree of Advocate BroMenn Medical Center in Normal.
The public was invited to get a look at the new areas of the hospital at 101 S. Major St., Eureka, during an open house held on the afternoon of Jan. 16.
Advocate broke ground on the $11.4 million project in July 2014. Community support has raised more than $1.8 million for the project.
The hospital’s three-level expansion adds two state-of-the-art operating rooms, as well as 11 modern, private patient rooms. Each patient room includes an area for overnight stays by a family member.
“We’re very excited for the public to see these new areas,” Hospital Administrator Anna Laible said in a statement. “Modernizing our ORs and providing more private patient rooms will greatly enhance the experience here for patients, families and medical staff alike.”
Laible stressed the benefits of private rooms to the healing process.
“Studies consistently show that patients heal faster and have a shorter length of stay when they are in private rooms,” said Laible in a statement. “It’s also less stressful for the patients and their loved ones when everyone has the privacy of their own space.”
Illinois Lt. Gov. Evelyn Sanguinetti speaks at the opening dedication of the Advocate Eureka Hospital addition on Jan. 14.
A spacious new family waiting room is also available for times when visitors need to step out of the patient’s room.
The new surgical suite houses the two new operating rooms, replacing ORs that were built nearly 50 years ago.
“The new surgical suite is designed for maximum efficiency,” Laible said. “The ORs are large enough to accommodate the latest technology and expand the types of procedures that can be performed here.”
The suite also includes a new post-surgery recovery area.
The new structure’s lower level contains the building’s utilities and mechanicals, as well as shelled space for potential future development.
— Advocate Eureka dedicates new hospital addition —
