BROOKINGS – Team members moved into the newly renovated portion of the original 1964 Brookings Hospital building last week, edging the two-year hospital expansion and renovation project closer to the finish line.

Care providers will start seeing patients in their newly remodeled areas this week.

“We remodeled the existing hospital space to accommodate services displaced by our construction project, such as outreach, cardiac rehab, and respiratory care. We’ve also brought back on campus ancillary staff who were located off campus,” Brookings Health System President and CEO Jason Merkley said.

The new outreach clinic is located on the second floor of the original hospital in the area once occupied by pharmacy and cardiac rehab. The clinic was expanded to include two more exam rooms, meaning it can now host two out-of-town specialists at the same time. The added space within the outreach clinic should continue to attract additional medical specialists to serve the Brookings community.

Also on the second floor is the new cardiopulmonary rehabilitation gym, located on half of the old south circle. The new gym has ample space for Phase 2 cardiac rehab patients to work out while being monitored for cardiac rhythm, heart rate, blood pressure and oxygen levels as needed. In addition, the new gym has men’s and women’s locker rooms.

The new respiratory care area is on the first floor, located in part of the old operating room space. Respiratory care has expanded from one outpatient treatment room to four and is adding a plethysmograph, commonly called a body box.

The body box allows respiratory therapists to perform advanced testing to help identify asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and other breathing problems.

In addition, respiratory care now has a new cardiac stress test procedure room, conveniently located across from nuclear medicine, the imaging test that measures how well blood flows into the heart muscle both at rest and during physical activity.

Also slated to open later this month on the first floor are the new gift shop and a new coffee shop operated by Scooter’s. The gift shop will include items like balloons, flowers, cards, books, apparel, stuffed animals and baby gear. Scooter’s coffee shop will offer a variety of beverage options along with breakfast items, such as sandwiches and burritos.

“Our last part of the project is finishing the new front entry off 22nd Avenue,” Merkley said. “That will be finished in October and will give patients and visitors easy access to both the Medical Plaza and Brookings Hospital. It will also lead to the grand hallway that connects the original building with the new hospital.

“We thank our patients, visitors and community for their patience during our project. We know renovation created some challenges in navigating to certain services. We apologize for any inconveniences created during the project and are grateful that our community is excited about, and supportive of, our progress.”

More information about the hospital expansion and renovation project can be found online at www.brookingshealth.org/renovation.

Caption: 

Outreach/Patient Services Representative Miah Badawi and Outreach Clinic Coordinator Jennifer Chandler, RN, move a bed in to one of the new outreach clinic exam rooms. Team members moved into the newly renovated portion of the original 1964 Brookings Hospital building last week. Care providers will start seeing patients in the remodeled spaces this week. (BHS photo)