By Krista Duhon
news@joplinglobe.com
GROVE, Okla. — The president of Integris Grove General Hospital beamed as he showed off a glimpse at the new $56 million hospital, which is set to open in December.
Greg Martin, along with project superintendent Dave Hulstrand, led reporters on a two-hour tour of the 175,000-square-foot, two-story hospital.
“The technology within Integris Grove General Hospital is as good as any other,” Martin said, noting that the appearance of the 46-year-old hospital may have caused some to question the quality of care. “We employ some of the finest board-certified physicians in the state, and our services are as good as you can receive in Tulsa or Oklahoma City.”
Kristi Wallace, a spokeswoman for the hospital, said the new operation will bring all elements of Grove’s hospital back to a central location and streamline care for patients who previously had to seek hospital services elsewhere.
“There was just nowhere to grow in the old facility,” Wallace said. “We could not go up. We could not go out. We were boxed in.”
The new site sits on 40 acres where hospital foundation members and hospital officials are hoping to see an administrative building and a cancer center.
Martin said the realization of the new hospital has arrived ahead of schedule because of a remarkable grass-roots effort that started with the Integris Grove Hospital Foundation.
“Plans to build a new facility were built into a long-range plan, but the community said, ‘We don’t want to wait,’” Martin said. “They launched a $5 million fundraising campaign and drew the support that caused Integris to revise its plan and make this possible.”
At a glance
-- The new hospital has nearly twice the square footage of the old hospital.
-- The building was constructed to accommodate a full third story in the future.
-- The hospital has more emergency room space, private patient elevators and enhanced accommodations for visitors, including outdoor dining areas and spacious waiting rooms.
-- Construction began in June 2008, and work is currently on schedule and below budget.
-- There are 58 oversized patient rooms, 42 medical-surgical rooms, 10 women’s health rooms, four operating rooms and six private ICU rooms.
