Parkview Warsaw opened its doors to over 1,000 people for a preview of its services Friday and Saturday.
The $20 million medical facility next to the Parkview Warsaw YMCA on Mariners Drive started seeing patients in its physician offices in late January and plans to open its outpatient lab Wednesday. Those services will include diagnostic imaging and physical therapy. The full-service ER is set to open April 14.
A lot of behind-the-scenes work has to happen ahead of the opening, said Stacie Bobeck, trauma department manager, as she showed off her section of the hospital to visitors. They have to stock the department, install the rest of the equipment and put the doors on the trauma room.
When it’s open, she’ll oversee a staff of registered nurses, advanced EMTs and respiratory technicians. She explained to visitors the department will have a 24-hour ambulance and that the Samaritan Medical helicopter is about a 10-minute flight away.
The flight crew was showing off Sam-2 on the helipad outside. Pilot Clark Wendt explained the green and white Airbus Dauphin, in operation since 1999, is based at the Fulton County Airport. He was joined by Flight Nurse Lynn Chupp and Flight Paramedic Ty Corn.
The tour inside continued through the specimen lab, which Lab Manager Kevin Schaefer explained can perform any blood or other testing needed in the hospital; and the diagnostic imaging department, which features MRIs with artifact reduction for a much clearer image of the anatomy of a joint, said Marketing Manager Mark Coffee.
Between the two rooms, Bonnie Phillips excitedly recognized one of her photos on the wall. The Warsaw resident is one of 32 people whose work was picked to decorate the new hospital, and said she had a total of 22 photos chosen of local landmarks like bright red barns. She said she was offered $550 but chose to donate half.
“I was glad to share it, I’m just an amateur,” she said, adding that it’s her first time seeing her work displayed outside the county fair.
Parkview Warsaw President Scott Gabriel, standing in the front lobby to greet people as they came in, said they had a lot of excited responses between the 350 who attended the VIP event Friday night and the 850 who toured Saturday. He said the phased-in opening is right on target.
He explained that, being new to the community, they weren’t sure what kind of volume they’d see, so the plan was always to let the physicians move in and get settled, then to open the ER.
He also remarked on the success of the new YMCA that Parkview sponsored, which has seen doubled attendance and which he called a partnership that focuses on wellness and patient care beyond the acute. Parkview plans to find other ways to get involved in the community, he added, citing their sponsorship of Joe’s Kids events as one example.
“Parkview doesn’t do anything halfway, we’re all in,” he said.
