Johnston Memorial Hospital's New Facility Offers a Bundle of Patient Amenities
Johnston Memorial Hospital has come a long way since its humble beginnings in a 12-bed log cabin in 1905.
Washington County citizens are eagerly awaiting the opening of the hospital's new $135 million, 500,000-square-foot facility that is taking shape along the south side of Interstate 81 in Abingdon. The four-story, 116-bed hospital is on track to open in June 2011 and will anchor the 60-acre campus where Johnston Memorial Hospital recently opened its new cancer center.
"We opened our current facility in 1919, and it has been added on to several times over the years, but it doesn't have all the efficiencies we need to best serve our patients," says Sean McMurray, chief executive officer for Johnston Memorial Hospital. "The new hospital will serve the community for many years, and our board thought that if we are going to continue to attract the best and brightest health-care providers, we need the best facility possible."
One of the biggest patient benefits of the new facility will be all private rooms, something JMH patients have been requesting for years.
"The rooms are specially designed to be very comfortable for patients and their families, with more space, pull-out couches and beds oriented to look out lovely picture windows," McMurray says. "Caregivers will also have more space to get in the rooms and help the patients.
Another advantage will be easy access to all the hospital's services.
"When you come in the main entrance, you will immediately see the only registration desk in the whole hospital," McMurray says. "It will be very simple to find one's way around, so you won't have to wander in search of a patient's room."
The operating rooms and emergency room will be nearly double the size of the current hospital's operating rooms and emergency room.
"Our E.R. is very busy and sees about 40,000 people a year, and that has presented challenges because we have an undersized E.R.," McMurray says. "The new E.R. will double in size from 13 to 26 beds, which will help patients spend less time waiting."
The facility will be the first LEED-certified "green" hospital in southwest Virginia.
"We are very committed to helping protect our environment," McMurray says. "Our air conditioning will run much more efficiently, and the way we utilize water will be more environmentally friendly."
While the hospital will open with 116 beds, there will be room to expand to 170 beds in the future with the state's approval.
Construction of Johnston Memorial Hospital's new facility was made possible by the hospital's partnership with Mountain States Health Alliance, a health-care system made up of 14 hospitals in Tennessee, Virginia, Kentucky and North Carolina. MSHA is headquartered in Johnston City, Tenn. JMH joined MSHA in April 2009.
