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After 58 years, hospital makes historic move

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A total of three inpatients were stabilized and transported, with nurses by their side in ambulances, from the old hospital to the new medical center on Thursday, June 11—moving day for Crossing Rivers Health. Pictured, the last patient left around 8:40 a.m. (Photo by Correne Martin)

Near the operating room nurses station, Crossing Rivers Health and Hawkeye Movers staff work together to unwrap, wipe down, sanitize and put away equipment.

Crossing Rivers staff readies equipment to be arranged in their new home.

Hawkeye Movers crew members arrange a double-door refrigerator in the kitchen at the new Crossing Rivers Health medical center.

Lab workers test their equipment and supplies to make sure they're ready to be used in the new hospital.

By Correne Martin

Plans were first announced in 2011 to build a cutting-edge, new medical facility in Prairie du Chien. The Prairie du Chien Memorial Hospital board then decided, after establishing a master faculty plan, that it wasn’t feasible to remodel its 58-year-old Taylor Street facility or add onto it for the 12th time. So land was purchased and sights were set on a new location at 37868 Highway 18, where a grandiose medical center, rebranded Crossing Rivers Health (CRH) in 2014, now welcomes people in from the south side of the community.

After years of preparation, last Thursday, June 11, was a highly-anticipated and precisely-orchestrated day for Crossing Rivers. It was moving day, from the outdated and landlocked old facility to the $50 million, 25-bed, 137,000-square-foot new facility. The three-day move, a majority of which happened Thursday, was something a hospital committee has been planning for about a year and a half.

“We talked to other facilities that went through the same thing,” explained Nicole Martin, CRH lean manager. “We reached out to Sauk Prairie because they were in the same position a year ago—moving from an old facility into a brand new one. We also obtained input from businesses, residents and the staff themselves and walked through the planning process from a patient perspective. Throughout the planning, it was a very consistent process.”

As moving day came closer, an activation team composed of facilities, purchasing, information technology, administration, clinical and other staff focused on the details of moving the hospital operations and equipment from one site to the other with no lapse in service.

About eight to 10 months ago, a request for proposals went out seeking moving companies for the immense endeavor, particularly ones that had expertise in the health care industry, according to CRH Chief Financial Officer Dave Breitbach. Hawkeye Movers, of Iowa City, Iowa, was chosen for the job and touted experience with health care organizations that had built brand new.

“Our staff was concerned, because we have some very technical equipment,” Breitbach said. “But we also contracted the companies that sold us the equipment, from (operating room) lights to copying machines, to help us with the move. We knew this was a once-in-a-100-year event and we wanted to make sure we did it right.”

In addition to 20 movers and a few additional coordinators utilizing three semis for Hawkeye Movers, nearly all 340 employees’ hands were on-deck throughout the move, assisting in their respective areas at both facilities. According to Martin, 1,500 totes and numerous wire racks of supplies secured with shrink wrap were transported in the move. Staff also worked to purge where possible, shredding 400 bankers boxes of materials no longer needed, as the majority of records are electronic these days.

“Every staff member has had some role in the move, starting with discussions and preparation and ending with take down and set-up on moving day,” Martin said. “Our volunteers (Partners of Crossing Rivers Health) have also been very helpful.”

In the weeks prior to the transition, equipment and supplies were inventoried and marked with stickers designating the location of their “new home.”

“Anything we saw that could be utilized and that was in good shape made the move,” Martin said. However, some items didn’t make the trip to the new place and those were either traded for new, will be auctioned to staff or the community, or possibly donated to free clinics in the area. The latest technology purchased for the new hospital was put in place in advance of the June 6 grand opening of the new site. The biggest pair of such technology included a wider and more capable MRI machine, which eliminates the need for the mobile unit used to date, and a faster CT scanner with additional capabilities as well.

When the big day arrived, June 11, the emergency room at the new medical center opened at 6 a.m., so all necessary equipment was arranged prior to that. State approval was required before patients were allowed to be cared for at the new facility. Some of the non-24-hour offices, such as billing, moved less urgently than others. Certain departments such as surgery, respiratory therapy, obstetrics and lab were capable of operating simultaneously in both places if necessary, although non-emergent appointments were avoided in the days surrounding June 11.

Making the hospital less vulnerable on moving day, the volume of inpatients, fortunately, was just three people. They were fed breakfast in the morning, stabilized and loaded into ambulances where a nurse cared for them during transport. The first patient headed out the door at 8:34 a.m., and the other two were just minutes after. Five others, including the last mom to deliver at the old hospital, were discharged that day and not moved to the new site. Four ambulances and one wheelchair-accessible van were available Thursday in case the volume would have been as many as 25 inpatients and/or ER patients.

A command center of staff at the new hospital Thursday helped to coordinate the move between the two buildings.

 “Communication was so imperative,” Breitbach said. “We wanted to be ahead of the curve and assure that we could take care of the little things.” The command center also kept notes of what worked well and what didn’t during the move, so Crossing Rivers can pay it forward to other health care entities who might seek advice.

Once equipment and supplies arrived at the new site Thursday, a crew was ready to unwrap them, wipe them down (from the consistent rain that fell all day) and then sanitize them before they could be placed in position. As each area of the old hospital was cleared, staff made a walk-through and secured the area, before placing red tape over the doorway or hallway, designating it as deactivated. Final walk-throughs will be done in the coming weeks and Crossing Rivers will continue to monitor, secure and maintain the old hospital so it doesn’t become a blight to the neighborhood as they decide what its future might be. A committee of hospital, city and county officials has been working together to determine potential uses for the facility.

“I think our community is very comfortable with this building,” Martin said of the old hospital. “Many families were born here and going through change isn’t always comfortable.”

“But I think once they see the new building, they’re going to love it,” Breitbach stated. “People can take a great deal of pride in having this in our community.”

We look forward to continuing to serve our patients in southwest Wisconsin and northeast Iowa in our beautiful new medical center,” Martin added.

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