(August 02, 2007) Franklin, Kentucky.   The Medical Center at Franklin celebrated the grand opening of its 25-bed patient wing expansion Wednesday. [From the Franklin Favorite]

The new 11,450-square-foot patient wing, which is part of an overall $5 million expansion and renovation project, features 25 private rooms with private baths, fold out beds for visitors and HDTV flat screen televisions as well as two isolation rooms and a nurses’ station. The existing 42-bed hospital had mostly semi-private rooms and communal showers. A second corridor connection was added to provide alternative access to the new wing as well as create an internal courtyard for patient use. The new courtyard features a water fountain.

“We have anxiously waited for this day, and we are thrilled to see this project come to fruition,” Clara Sumner, chief executive officer of The Medical Center at Franklin said. “When Commonwealth Health Corporation acquired Franklin-Simpson Memorial Hospital in 2000, we made the commitment to provide first-rate services to the residents of Simpson County. Completion of this expansion is a true testament to that commitment.”

After ceremoniously cutting the ribbon, attendees were invited to tour the new expansion. The warm colors and abundance of natural light that characterize the new addition are quite the contrast to the previous inpatient wing. In addition to more aesthetically pleasing accommodations, The Medical Center at Franklin has incorporated some of the latest technology into its expansion.

“We have a new computerized nurse call system as well as bedside charting for our clinical staff,” added Sumner.

Now that the new patient wing is complete, efforts will be focused on second-phase renovations to the previous inpatient wing. The renovation calls for creation of four observation suites and a new larger and more comfortable family waiting area.

Ms. Sumner said extensive upgrades have been made to ensure the continued operation of the facility as well as its capacity to expand with the addition of the new patient wing. Phase two upgrades will include the replacement of electrical, heating/cooling, emergency generator and fire alarm systems.

“Upon completion of second phase renovations, The Medical Center at Franklin will be up to modern standards, enabling us to provide even higher quality health care services close to home,” Ms. Sumner said.

Second phase renovations are expected to be completed this fall. Ground was broken on the first phase May 24, 2006.

Bowling Green-based Commonwealth Health Corp. operates the facility, which was built in 1968 as the county-owned F-S Memorial Hospital.

CHC, which also owns hospitals in Bowling Green and Scottsville, assumed ownership of the local hospital on April 1, 2000.

The now 58,633-square-foot Medical Center at Franklin is a full-service hospital, offering an emergency room, outpatient department and an up-to-date diagnostic ward.

Several other upgrades have taken place at the hospital since the change in ownership, including construction of the Franklin Medical Plaza, where patients can see specialists without having to travel out of town; the addition of new services, such as MRI, nuclear medicine and bronchoscopy; and the purchase of other up-to-date hospital equipment, including new beds that cost a quarter of a million dollars. The beds, which can weigh patients as well as adjust for bed sores, will be moved into the new wing.

Ms. Sumner said recent improvements have also been made to the emergency room.

In 2004, the Medical Center at Franklin was accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations for the first time in its then 36-year history.