New opening date announced for Idaho Falls Community Hospital
Published at | Updated at
IDAHO FALLS – Due to unforeseen delays, Idaho Falls Community Hospital has pushed back its opening date.
Chief Operating Officer Casey Jackman tells EastIdahoNews.com the new opening date is scheduled for Monday, Dec. 2.
“A delay in construction has pushed us back a little bit,” according to a post on the hospital’s Facebook page. “When we decided to build Idaho Falls Community Hospital, we made a commitment to provide our community with personalized, high-quality care. As we open our doors, we will hold true to our promises. Quality care and patient safety will be our top priorities. We will not open the hospital until we are fully ready to care for you.”
The hospital was originally scheduled to open Nov. 4.
Further details about the hospital’s opening will be announced Monday, says Jackman. Jackman sat down with EastIdahoNews.com last week to talk about the new hospital. CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE ENTIRE CONVERSATION.
The new 182,000-square-foot-building will work alongside Mountain View Hospital to broaden the current medical offering with an emergency room, intensive care unit, and other acute care services.
“The kind of patients we’re going to see weren’t planning on coming to the hospital today. So, they’ll come through the emergency room after an accident, or after an illness becomes acute enough that they need to be seen by a doctor,” Jackman said.
Idaho Falls Community Hospital and Mountain View Hospital will be allies in providing care for patients. Patients of the new hospital will stay in private 240-square foot suites. Each suite will have its own bathroom with a shower, window and sleeper sofa in case someone wants to stay by the patient’s side.
“Not only do we want to take care of the patient, we also want to take care of the patient’s family. We’ve provided areas where private conversations for family members can happen,” he said. “We want them to stay comfortable while they’re supporting their family member.”
RELATED | Idaho Falls Community Hospital scheduled to open this fall
There are a total of 88 beds, with 22 more emergency room beds. The hospital will also include a restaurant-style cafeteria with a seating capacity of up to 73 people. A medical staff will consist of 350 to 400 people.
The cost of the construction project is $116 million, but another $25 million will be spent on operating costs before the hospital opens up. The project is being funded by a medical trust that also operates Mountain View.
Idaho Falls Community Hospital is at 2327 Coronado Street.
