New UP Health Systems-Marquette prepares for grand opening
MARQUETTE — On Thursday afternoon, ABC 10 got to go inside the new hospital in Marquette and it’s just about ready to be officially open.
The $330 million hospital is on its way to opening its doors and it is going to make a huge impact on the health and life saving services for the U.P.
Even the staff has been very excited on seeing this facility develop from the ground up.
“It’s been very exciting, so it’s very rare that you have the opportunity to see a hospital start from the ground up until opening. So for our staff and our community to be able to experience that, I think is absolutely wonderful” said UPHS Associate Administor, Maria Armijo. “This is really a once in a lifetime opportunity for our staff.”
To add on to the excitement, patients will be happy to know that this facility was designed to accommodate patients comfort and allowing them to have less stress when recovering.
“So this whole facility was built with the patient’s comfort in mind. I think one of the biggest things folks will see is just the ability to navigate the facility with ease,” said Regional Director, Victor Harrington. “Everything can be accessed off this main corridor that we’re in right now. Way finding is just a significant improvement over what people are seeing today at the existing hospital.”
The new hospital has 275 beds and they will be private rooms which will allow patients to have their own space to themselves while visiting.
Not only that but this new facility will house state of the art equipment that will be able to help the communities of the U.P. with almost any medical needs.
“We are the U.P.’s, only what we call, Regional Tertiary Facility offering complex services; heart and vascular, cancer care, brain and spine among others. So, really what we’ve built here is a destination center for all of our communities across the U.P.” said the Director.
The facility also has a new helipad that will be utilized for patients in emergency situations to be transported to and from the hospital.
Today, the hospital is also starting a training session known as “A Day in the life,” which is preparing the staff for any possible situation with their new surroundings.
To Harrington,”our top priority right now is getting our own people acclimated and comfortable in their space, so that’s what ‘Day in the Life’ is all about. Making sure that we identify any opportunities for improvement, making sure that our staff know where to go, and making sure that when we do move all those patients from up the hill down to here; it’s a safe and seamless transition”
If it wasn’t for all the time and effort from the staff and the community supporting this endeavor to build a unique facility for the U.P.
“I just want to thank all of our staff, thank the community for supporting the hospital. We could not do that, or even participate in this day, without all of our staff, so they’ve worked really hard. If you see any of our UP Health Systems staff out and about in the community please thank them” said Mary Armijo. “This is a second job for them, on top of taking care of patients everyday and if it wasn’t for them, we wouldn’t be as successful as we have been. Please do thank the staff that work here.”
The hospital will be having their official ribbon cutting on April 5, 2019, at 11:00 a.m.