OWENSBORO, KY (WFIE) -
It's a big day for Owensboro Health Regional Hospital.
The Education Department is the first to move into the new building, kicking off a transition phase.
14 News looks at what's finished and what's still on the to-do list.
Today marks a major milestone for Owensboro Health as the organization begins the three month process of moving to its new facility here on Pleasant Valley Road.
"It's a once in a lifetime opportunity," said Gordon Wilkerson, Owensboro Health. "I mean, you think about how many communities build a new hospital. It's not very often."
And this one is just about finished.
The Education Department's move today is just a prelude to what's on the horizon for next week.
"Our education department will start training about 2,500 workers and that, as you can imagine, is just a massive job," said Gordon.
That's going to focus on using new equipment and covering new procedures.
Some of that deals with patient care.
"We have what we call decentralized nursing, so there's like a mini hub at each patient room for the nurse to do their work," said Gordon.
Construction crews have a busy few months ahead of them.
"From a construction standpoint, during the summer, we were still in a very rough construction stage," said Tim McCurley, KLMK Group. "Now, we are doing just finish work at this point. It's paint on the walls, it's carpet on the floors. All of that is pretty much wrapped up at this point," he said.
That's got the hospital wishing these last three months would go by a little faster.
"This is the first time that we've stepped out and built a new state of the art facility, and we're real excited about it and anxious to get here," said Gordon.
In early May, the community will be given a chance to tour the hospital and take a look around before the official move on June 1.
Construction crews will also be installing about 15,000 pieces of medical equipment this month as part of their finishing touches.@
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