LAURINBURG — A year ago, officials and staff from the Scotland County Health Care System saw the top steel beam being put on the frame of Scotland Memorial Hospital’s biggest expansion. The expansion would include an Imaging Department, a renovated Surgical Services Department, and a new operating room building.
After all that work, this week the public got a first-hand look at the finished product: six new operating rooms (ORs) with cutting-edge technology, a new post-acute care unit, and more were shown off during an open house on Tuesday.
The staff told the tour groups that the rooms were big and that there was plenty of light throughout the building.
David Pope, CEO of the Scotland Healthcare System, said, “First, I’m really excited about this because these facilities are going to be as good as or better than any operating room in the state of North Carolina.
That’s our promise.” “If we’re going to do something, we’re going to do it at that high level so that the people we serve get the same experience they would have going anywhere else.”
The old operating rooms, which were built in the 1980s, are a lot smaller than the new ones. Pope said that most operating rooms built at this time were in the middle of the hospital. He also said that in the winter, staff who started surgery at 5 a.m. would work all day without seeing any sunlight.
“The break rooms, natural light, and space around the operating rooms will make it a better place for our team to work…” “We want to make this a great place to work so that surgeons want to join our team and be a part of what we’re doing here,” Wood said.
Pope also said that the new OR will have the same “high quality” of staff as the staff at Scotland Health.
As part of a $64 million makeover project at the hospital, the new building is Phase I. In Phase 2, the present operating room will be fixed up and turned into pre- and post-service rooms for outpatient surgery. Pope said that this is the biggest project that Scotland Health has ever worked on.
“We think of it as an investment.” “This extra work, this renovation, this growth will keep us competitive with other people and other systems in North Carolina for the next 30 years,” Pope said.
The big project is meant to make it possible for people in the area to get the care they need without having to drive two hours to Raleigh or Charlotte, according to the CEO. Pope said that this will make it possible for patients to get help from their families, neighbors, and churches.
“Some people in our community don’t have the money or time to travel…” Your health status should not be determined by the zip code you’re living in,” Pope said.
“We’re making a commitment for the communities we serve here in Scotland County and over in Pembroke and down in Marlboro County that we’re gonna give them the very best because they deserve it.”
Wood thanked surgical services staff who he said were involved in the design process. He also thanked team leaders Brandy Baysek, senior director of Surgical Services; Bebe Holt, Chief Nursing Officer; Lucien St. Onge, Chief Finance Office/COO; Shelly Lowery, Chief Medical Officer; and Christi Meggs, vice president of Human Resources.
“Without the community board and the support we had from them, we wouldn’t have been able to make this happen,” Pope said.
The hospital will begin use of the new OR facility on Oct. 21.