IU Health Starke Hospital will be putting plans on display for what they hope will one day be a new hospital.
On Friday, the culmination of work that’s been going on this week will be showcased at the hospital for the public to view. Officials with the hospital have been busy putting together a mock-up of a proposed new building, this week.
Communications Director Ted Hayes says there will be a lot of questions asked.
“The design people will be there. If there are any suggestions that maybe make sense to them, I suppose the public could,” says Hayes.
The current hospital was constructed in the 1950’s. A number of renovations have taken place since that time, including: the entrances, the addition of beds, and an improved operating room.
Improvements to the traffic flow and accommodations for new technology are among the biggest changes the designs hope to address. Medical technology has advanced at an exponential pace the last several years.
Hayes says there are a few things the public will notice.
“One of the hindrances we have had in the last three or four years, and I’ve heard it from a number of people who have come in and say ‘this is an old hospital.’ They have equated that with services,” says Hayes.
The public is invited to view the plans and potentially ask questions.
Hayes says Starke County officials will likely be shown the design at a future meeting. The County owns the current hospital facility and leases it to IU Health Starke.
The County would have to agree to let them build a new facility.
