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care , specifically and inclusively emergency care ,” Hill said .
He said they are an organization that never sleeps , staffed around the clock to take care of people when they have their greatest time of need .
That ’ s also important from an economic standpoint , he said . OSF is one of the larger employers in the community , and most people who work in a hospital have advanced degrees .
Between the hospital and medical group , OSF employs close to 900 people in the community , not including all the support services in Danville and regionally .
“ We think , not only OSF Sacred Heart , but every hospital in a small community is a really important part of that community ,” Hill said .
When people look to relocate to a community , and as people get older , they look at what the health care is like .
“ We ’ re happy to be here and happy to serve the community ,” Hill said . Upgrading buildings Part of the hospital building on Logan
Avenue was built in the 1920s and 1980s .
“ We ’ re currently in the process of upgrading most areas of the hospital . Anywhere there is patient care , we ’ re looking at upgrading ,” Hill said .
OSF is redoing the entire fourth floor to retrofit and remodel the space . When a patient comes in the hospital , that ’ s usually the place , unless they ’ re in the intensive care unit , where they spend a few days getting better .
“ So , we want that to be really nice , really comforting and welcoming and warm ,” Hill said .
They ’ ve recently painted all the exterior corridors and spaces , remodeled the wound care center and remodeled the cancer center and clinics at the 707 Logan Ave . building .
Hill said just like at home , when things look a little tired , they like to put a refresh on there to make it look nice again .
As with obstetrics , which will reopen Sept . 1 after being closed since Oct . 2022 due to the lack of staffing , the hospital sometimes can ’ t be everything in a community hospital all the time .
OSF has a partnership with Carle
OSF Sacred Heart Medical Center President Ned Hill .
Health for obstetric providers . The staff is in place , and the department is seeing new painting and flooring , Hill said . “ We ’ re ready to go ,” he said . Hill said staffing across the board is better now at OSF , after the height of COVID-19 .
Improvements also continue at the OSF HealthCare Bobette Steely Hegeler Cancer Care Center .
Phase one of the cancer center expansion saw installation of a state-of-the-art linear accelerator for radiation treatment in March 2022 .
Phase two expansion upgrades included : increasing the number of exam rooms from two to five for a partner and radiation oncologist to join Dr . Jo-Mel Labayog in seeing patients . One room will be larger to accommodate bariatric patients and people who have trouble getting around . Each room has new furniture and equipment , sliding doors and touch screen wall monitors .
Phase three is planned for three to four years down the road . OSF plans to expand the cancer center ’ s physical footprint to offer new services and amenities , such as visiting oncologists , an education room , pastoral care and physical therapy .
The hospital ’ s emergency department has seen the triage process move from the back of the emergency department to the front by the waiting room .
“ We have a very busy ER , one of the busiest in the entire company . That creates in of itself , 100 patients-ish through the
doors and treated and cared for each day ,” Hill said .
There would be long wait times in the ER , and Hill said they wanted to improve those several-hour waits .
When patients come into the emergency department now , a provider is there to see patients right away , not just a nurse , to significantly reduce people ’ s times there and start lab , imaging and other orders .
Safety improvements in the emergency department also have continued , including new LED outside lighting , video cameras and security presence . Partnerships The saying that it takes a village to raise and care for families and community is true , Hill said .
There are partnerships with Christie Clinic , Carle Health , CRIS Healthy Aging , Vermilion County Health Department and others for drugs , supplies and meeting the public ’ s needs .
No one stands alone in the health care business . There ’ s also so many dynamics with mental health , behavioral and medical issues and socio-economic issues , Hill said .
“ It takes everyone rolling the ball in the same direction to have a healthy community ,” Hill said .
OSF also works with local media , such as the Commercial-News and televisions stations , to communicate with the public , in addition to social media , about new providers and services . OSF officials give presentations to local civic groups .
Hill said he receives a lot of health care finance questions , which is a topic that can be misunderstood . People ask why can there be health care finance challenges for entities when health care bills so high ?
If inflation is going up , most companies can raise prices , but hospitals and health care can ’ t do that , he said . Payment structures are fixed .
Hill said health care is seeing unprecedented cost increases for staffing , construction , supply and drug costs , and they aren ’ t able to pass those increases to patients .
“ Most hospitals , especially community not-for-profit hospitals like us , we ’ re striving to get to a break-even point where the money coming in equals the money going out ,” Hill said .
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