By Jackie Gorski
Times-Union
WARSAW — Celebrating the completion and opening of an expansion at Parkview Kosciusko Hospital, the hospital and the Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday.
The facility opened to patients Jan. 16, following the completion of the expansion that transformed the building from an outpatient center into a full-service hospital, offering both inpatient and outpatient care.
The original 86,000-square-foot facility opened in 2016 as Parkview Warsaw, an outpatient center that featured a freestanding emergency room. The hospital, with the expansion, now stands at 174,000 square feet.
The expansion includes an inpatient unit that can accommodate up to 28 patients, two operating rooms and two procedure rooms, as well as areas for pre- and post-surgical care and an oncology clinic that serves as an expansion of the Parkview Packnett Family Cancer Institute (PFCI).
Scott Gabriel, market president at Parkview, said the opening of the expansion is three years in the making.
He said he can’t say enough of the community. It has welcomed Parkview since it opened the emergency room and continues to welcome Parkview and ask more of them.
Megan Smith, COO of the Parkview Packnett Family Cancer Institute, said having the institute at Parkview means people don’t have to drive to Fort Wayne or other areas for care. It’s more time for people to share with their family and less time they have to take off work.
“We’re excited. Our team is excited,” Smith said.
The institute team has been driving to Fort Wayne for training and the Warsaw location has its first patient next week.
Dr. Greg Johnson, regional market president, reiterated the thanks to the Warsaw community.
“It’s an easy sentence to say, but it means a lot. And we truly have been welcomed,” Johnson said.
Johnson said Parkview is here to serve the community.
“And I use the term serve with an emphasis. We’re here to serve patients. We’re here to serve our coworkers. We’re here to serve the community. This isn’t just about having a cancer institute or some hospital beds. This is Parkview Health being a partner in the community of Warsaw,” Johnson said.
Rob Parker, president and CEO of the Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce, said he wanted to reiterate what people had already heard during the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
“Thank you, Parkview, for this huge investment in our community. Thank you for making your center great. I think the most valuable resource we all have is time. And so when we can have care in our own backyard, we’re not traveling across U.S. 30 with all the semis. When we can have it in our own backyard, that means so much for our local families. And I just want to say thank you again on behalf of the community, on behalf of the Kosciusko Chamber Board and all of our members, thank you so much for your investment in this community. It shows more than anything a faith in our community that we are growing and we are going to continue to grow because we are doing the right things in Kosciusko County,” Parker said.
