MUSKEGON, Mich. - If all goes as planned the first departments in the new Mercy Health's new Muskegon hospital will open on Nov. 5.
The emergency department, operating rooms, and lobby had been slated to open in September. But hospital staff decided not to rush the move in date.
"It did not allow for all of the units to be open at the same time," said Kimberly McElhaney, director of perioperative services for Mercy Health. "In order to take the care of our patients we decided to delay an additional two months."
Construction and renovations on the $291 million project should finish in the fall of 2019. Work is about 50 percent complete.
The project includes renovations to the existing hospital.
According to the Catholic health care system, it's the largest construction project ever in Muskegon County. The new hospital tower is 10-stories tall.
"At this point it is getting our staff oriented, trained, and use to the new equipment," said Nicholas Strait, director of clinical consolidation for Mercy Health. "They're already experts at what they do, they're not experts in doing what they do in a new location."
The new hospital will bring the Hackley operating room staff and the Mercy operating room staff together for the first time.
Site work for the new hospital began in May, 2016. On average 300 workers from a variety of trades are at the job site each day. The hospital will include 267 licensed beds, and inpatient rooms equipped with a wardrobe, flat-screen television, and wireless internet access.
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