Larry Swearingen, president and CEO of Blessing Hospital, said patient care is still the hospital's top priority. Swearingen said the Emergency Center expansion will complete plans made after St. Mary's Hospital and Blessing consolidated eight years ago. The Emergency Department renovations could be completed by late 2002. Four floors of private patient rooms will be added to the 2001 Building, which also will house renal dialysis, rehabilitation and radiology units. The parking lot will be built on the south side of Spring Street.
Blessing owns most of the homes on the site.
The hospital also is looking for another site near the 11th Street campus to build a parking deck. The hospital plans 600 more parking spaces as part of the expansion. Billings said the hospital will maintain a commitment to the 14th Street campus for at least five years, and will continue to house mental health and ambulatory surgery services there. Hospital officials had talked of moving out of the former St. Mary's Hospital and consolidating operations at 11th Street.