Eisentrager told the News-Sun that Ohio Valley has seen an increase in its staffing by 25 to 50 employees annually in past years as the hospital continues to grow.
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The hospital currently has a staff of over 300 compared to only 10 employees when it first opened a decade ago. He said there are 50 surgeons, who represent 12 specialties, that perform regular procedures at Ohio Valley.
Since opening, more than 115,000 surgeries have been performed at the hospital, averaging about 12,000 surgeries a year. In order to usher in new growth, there needs to be more space, said Eisentrager, who added that expansions can take the form of a new building or additions to preexisting facilities.
Details regarding a new facility west of the hospital’s surgical building are still being fleshed out, hospital officials said, and construction would likely start at the end of next year. There are also talks of expanding the surgical building as well and revamping building entrances at the medical campus, said Eisentrager.
In the past two years Ohio Valley has purchased land west of its campus. The purchase as well as clearing the land cost the hospital in excess of $1 million, Eisentrager said.
“We will need more space for operating and recovery. We are looking at all of our options. The next step will be a very major one,” he said, adding that they want to make their buildings more accessible to patients.
“We want it to be easier for patients to drive up and go in,” he added.
Earlier this year, the hospital began upgrading its pathology lab, which diagnoses diseases based on laboratory analysis of bodily fluids, adding a second magnetic resonance imaging machine, expanding physical therapy services by doubling equipment and began renovating lobbies at its medical building. In all, those projects are slated to cost the hospital $3 million once completed in January, according to information provided by Ohio Valley.
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Molly Krauss, director of imaging and ancillary services at the hospital, said upwards of 100 patients utilize imaging services at the hospital per day and that number has steadily grown over the past few years.
The goal is also to improve patient’s experiences and wait times by growing preexisting services, including a second MRI that provides patients with more space, she added.
New services have also been added to the hospital’s repertoire to better accommodate physicians’ needs, including offering prostate MRI’s at the request of the hospital’s urology team, said Krauss.
In the near future, the hospital seeks to increase its technological offerings as well as looking into less invasive surgical offerings such as micro-surgery, said Eisentrager.
By the numbers:
300: Approximate number of employees at Ohio Valley
50: Number of surgeons that perform operations at the surgical hospital
2: Number of buildings at the medical campus in downtown Springfield
The Springfield News-Sun is committed to covering the healthcare in Clark and Champaign Counties.
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