Carthage, IL – 60-years ago Memorial Hospital in Carthage was dedicated to those who served in World War II. Today, the new facility is dedicated to all who have served in the armed forces.
"You don't ever walk away from your history," says Memorial Hospital CEO Ada Bair. "You don't walk away from the legacy and so it was extremely important that we continue that." A dedication and ribbon cutting ceremony was held for the new hospital building.
Bair says the 18-bed facility has a better flow than the current facility. "It's laid out in a very efficient manor for contemporary medicine," says Biar. "The staff had an aweful lot to do with the overall design."
Bair says patients cannot yet be moved in to the new facility. The state is coming to inspect it later this month. "They are coming on the 28th of this month and so we will know after that when we will be allowed to officially move in," Bair says. "We have several of the offices that have moved in just to begin that transition. We will start patient care as soon as the state says we can move."
Bair says the old building will still be used for the specialty clinics. "Once we do the next phase of the project and do a medical office building, it will ultimately be removed to allow us more senior services expansion opportunities," says Bair.
The overall cost of the project is $24-million. "So much teamwork and community effort has gone in to the project and it's just thrilling to be here," says Bair.