Indoor improvements also planned
The parking lot isn’t the only part of St. Rose Ambulatory & Surgery Center undergoing changes. While work on the outside is visible to all who drive past the facility at 3515 Broadway Ave., several areas inside are being modernized as well, according to Senior Vice President Leanne Irsik.
"We are changing the front entrance to better welcome our outpatients when they first arrive," Irsik said. "There will be one front door and patients can register right where they enter. They will also have immediate access to our Radiology Department."
This should be finished by the end of the year.
The admissions and discharge area in the Surgery Department on the second floor is also being modernized. "The remodeled nurses’ workstation is more up-to-date and convenient for everyone," Irsik said.
The Sleep/Wake Disorders Center will move to the second floor and be open there after Christmas.
"We are consolidating many departments on the second floor," Irsik said. "Surgery and the pharmacy are already there, and the sleep lab and cardio-pulmonary services will join them soon."
In addition, the clinics for visiting specialists will be moved from the fifth floor to the first; and the infusion clinic and Urgent Care are getting facelifts. These are targeted for completion at the end of January.
"We hope the community sees these improvements as a visible sign that St. Rose is here to stay," Irsik said. "Catholic Health Initiatives, our parent company, realizes the importance of investing in this modernization for quicker, more convenient services.
"Construction funds are not taken from St. Rose’s operating budget," she added. "Rather, they come from CHI’s pooled resources that are available for all its facilities across the country."
As senior vice president of St. Rose Ambulatory & Surgery Center, Leanne Irsik understands that the facility’s improvement projects can be a bit inconvenient at times. But she also understands that the changes will be well worth the effort.
Currently, St. Rose outpatients and visitors enter the facilty at 3515 Broadway Ave. through the admissions/Urgent Care door. The walkway to that entrance is open for easy access, but the regular walk-in entrance, just to the north of the Urgent Care door, is now closed.
The Urgent Care and valet-parking driveway is always open.
"All of our improvements – inside and outside – will result in more convenience and safety for our patients and their families," Irsik said. "And the community can be assured there are no interruptions in medical services. Our professional staff members are doing what they always do – providing high-quality health care."
The first phase of the parking lot reconstruction is near completion. The area closest to the front door has been re-graded and there is a new circular driveway for dropping off patients. The stairs that connected the parking lot sections have been replaced with a ramp.
The drainage system has been re-configured so there will be less standing water and fewer problems with ice and snow. The infrastructure for a heating system has been added under the drop-off area and walkway; the system will be operational next year.
"This will certainly offer more safety and also reduce our labor costs for keeping the entrance clean," Irsik commented.
Within a couple of weeks, the entire section near the entrance will be open to public access. The next phase involves the middle of the lot, which should be finished shortly after Christmas.
The third phase will entail improvements to the east side of the lot, along Polk Street; that should be finished in mid-January. As with all construction projects, the weather is a factor. Landscaping will come later.
A printable map of the parking lot during this phase of construction can be found on the Internet at www.StRoseASC.org.
