An era in Sauk Prairie area health care is closing as another begins.
“It’s a testimony to the community,” medical director Dr. John McAuliffe told a crowd of about 1,000 people crowded into the large reception area of the new Sauk Prairie Healthcare Hospital on March 22.
“They’re the ones that made it possible. They put their trust in us as providers, and they trust us with their lives. We view it as a privilege to take care of them.”
The day-long event brought more than 3,000 people through the doors, many of whom stood shoulder-to-shoulder as McAuliffe spoke at the ribbon cutting.
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Long lines of visitors stretched out the front doors waiting to tour the new 140,000 square-foot facility at County Highway PF and 26th Street in Prairie du Sac with hospital medical staff as their guides.
Visitors crowded around a large screen TV to watch almost all of the 500 hospital staff members dancing and singing along to the Beatles’ “Hello, Goodbye,” in a welcome video produced especially for the open house.
The facility, which opens for business on April 5 at 6 a.m., nearly doubles the size of the 56-year old former hospital on First Street.
The hospital’s new beginning includes a name change from Sauk Prairie Memorial Hospital to Sauk Prairie Healthcare, which includes the hospital and its clinics in Prairie du Sac, Black Earth and Spring Green.
CEO Larry Schroeder said the facility is designed to promote patient privacy and comfort. “We wont have surgery patients going past the cafeteria,” Schroeder said. “That was very intentionally designed to maximize patient privacy. I really am very happy with the way the architecture was done, and the quality of workmanship of our contractors.”
The staff is in the middle of preparing for the move and experiencing a mix of excitement and melancholy.
“It’s very nostalgic,” said recovery nurse Pam Schreiner, who has worked at the hospital for 35 years. “We’ve been doing kind of a debriefing. You don’t realize what you’re going to miss when you’re gone. It’s like grieving somebody who’s been in your life a long time.”
The hospital has 11 surgeons on staff and five consulting surgeons whose offices will be based at the former location opening to the public sometime in late September.
The former hospital location will be known as the Wellspring Center and will also house the human resources department, medical information systems, the Sauk Prairie Healthcare Foundation and finance department.
In the past several weeks, staff members have participated in testing the flow, simulating patient movement throughout the hospital, making sure that routes are safe and efficient. Tim Prince of Findorff Strategic Insights has worked with the hospital in preparing for this process for the past year.
“We’ve gone through all the different steps from the patient’s perspective,” Prince said. “What is the patient feeling or experiencing? What are their fears or emotions?”
For instance, patients coming in for joint replacement will return to that same department for follow-up therapy.
“We spent a lot of time talking about the pre-operative activities related to joint replacement,” Prince said. “The processes there changed to allow for more efficient preparatory planning. The steps they take in prep and preclinical work for their patients is more efficient. The patient will have a better understanding of what their experience is going to be.”
McAuliff said those kinds of improvements are at the heart of his profession.
“When a patient comes through the door, their primary emotion is fear,” McAuliffe said. “It’s up to us as providers to alleviate that fear. We listen to their story and accept them without judgment. It’s our responsibility to acknowledge the particular dignity in every human being. It has to be that way. That’s our promise.”
Hospital board member Vickie Wenzel-Schlick said the timing of the new facility couldn’t be better.
“With the changes in the Affordable Care Act, it’s a great time to embrace that and realize that everybody can have health care,” Wenzel-Schlick said. “It’s about affordable health care. This is the right direction. It’s exciting. What a great opportunity here.”
Date: March 24, 2014