Valley West hospital to expand with new wing

SANDWICH – In a little more than a year, medical staff at Valley West Community Hospital will treat patients in a new wing of the facility.

Work will begin in late summer on a $11.2 million expansion at the hospital after the KishHealth System Board of Directors approved construction of a 21,400-square-foot patient wing on the north side of the facility. It should be finished in 2013.

The expansion will provide 19 private patient rooms and two observation rooms, according to a news release from KishHealth. The medical/surgical and intensive care units will move to the new wing.

Patient rooms currently are in a portion of the hospital added in the 1970s and don’t have the amenities necessary today, said Brad Copple, president of Valley West in Sandwich and Kishwaukee Community Hospital in DeKalb. Not all, for instance, have bathrooms or hand-washing sinks.

The new patient rooms will have a different look and feel, with separate spaces for the patient, caregivers and clinical needs.

“The rooms we have have served us well since the 1970s. They just are not the look, the feel, the function that you need in today’s environment,” Copple said.

Aspects such as having color in a room and a view to the environment are proven to aid a patient’s recovery, he said.

Once the addition is complete, the 1960s portion of the building – which is on the far south side of the building on Pleasant Street – will be torn down. A new facade will adorn what remains. Some renovations are planned for the portion of the building built in the 1970s, Copple said.

“The staff and the doctors down there are extremely pleased. It’s been tremendously accepted by the staff, as you can imagine,” Copple said. “We’ve been working on this for quite a while. We were able to bring a project to the table that made sense for all of us.”

The health system has invested $22 million in Valley West since 2002, including a new atrium entrance and lobby, operating rooms, emergency department and obstetrics unit, according to a news release. A medical office building opened on the north side in 2008, and more parking was added. Additional land was purchased north of the hospital to allow for long-term campus planning.

“Since becoming part of KishHealth System in 1998, Valley West has invested in facility, technology and program upgrades every year,” Michael Muzzillo, vice president of hospital operations, said in the release. “We have been very fortunate to be part of a health system that is financially strong.”

Madison, Wis.-based Erdman Healthcare Real Estate Solutions developed the design and construction plans. The same company is handling an addition to the Midland Surgical Center in Sycamore, which is a KishHealth System affiliate.

New physicians will be recruited to increase access to primary and specialty care at Valley West; the plan calls for 13 new physicians over the next five to six years.