Work continues on the new Arbuckle Memorial Hospital behind the hospital's current location. The project is on schedule for a summer 2009 opening, according to Arbuckle Memorial Hospital administrator Darin Farrell.

"They are putting the steel in the ground right now in order to be ready to pour the concrete," he said. Larry Sloan is the project coordinator.

Soon those interested in seeing the progress of the new hospital will see the first building rise from the ground. A metal building that will house much of the maintenance equipment for the hospital operation and the mechanics to operate the new hospital will be completed in the next four weeks, according to Farrell.

"They are going to complete that part of the project as the framing of the rest of the facility is being done for the concrete slab," he said.

Farrell said the staff has started to get excited as work is progressing. He added that the hospital makes announcements inside the hospital when a part of the project begins or is completed.

"People around town have commented that they see work being done and now know that the new hospital is going to happen," Farrell said.

The biggest part of the project to date was getting the back of the grounds built up as it sloped badly. Farrell said he guessed they used about 30,000 yards of dirt to build up the back of the property to be even with the front.

The concrete wall now on the property will be used as a screening wall to shield the big trucks that come in to pick up trash and deliver items to the hospital. The wall will also have a privacy screen to shield that part of the building from the entrance and back of the hospital.

Staff changes will be made to increase the size of the staff as needed.

"There won't be a significant change in personnel," Farrell said. "There will be additional staff needed as the new facility is bigger and will have a surgical area that is larger."

Farrell said the hospital staff has looked at how to best handle patient flow.

"We should be more efficient and it should be more efficient," he said. "It should be kind of a one-stop shop for outpatient care and there will much more privacy in the new building."

Farrell said the move will take quite a bit of work.

"There will be some new lab equipment in the new facility, but we will be moving most of the beds as they are new to the hospital in the past couple of years," he said. "Most of the office furniture is also new and will be moved to the new hospital. The furnishings in the waiting room are also new so they will be moved."

He added the moving days will be hard but it will be an easy transition.

"The new cardiac monitoring equipment will be installed as will the call lights, so that the staff can be trained on them before the hospital is opened," he said. "And we are considering adding new technologies before we move."

The new hospital will feature surgical suites and space for once a week or month specialty clinics to operate on the grounds, Farrell said. He said those specialty clinics will offer space for doctors from Oklahoma City, Ada, Ardmore and Norman to come to town to treat local residents. And there will be a mobile pad outside the hospital for vans or mobile clinics to come to Sulphur to offer services. "Inside the hospital the rooms will offer more privacy and there will be more room in the inpatient area," he said. "Now there is very little room in a patients room for visitors. The new hospital will feature all private rooms that are designed to accommodate visitors. And it will offer additional waiting room space for visitors to congregate and a larger emergency room."

Farrell explained that in the current ER there is one door for the ER. The new hospital will have a separate entrance for the general public and one for the emergency personnel.

And the new hospital will have additional space for future growth, Farrell noted.

Email our reporter at dhudspeth@sulphurtimes.com.