Monroe, Louisiana - St. Francis Medical Center today announced “St. Francis Forward,” an $80 million, four-year capital campaign intended to revitalize the Monroe medical center and community.
Phase one of the project, which began earlier this year, includes facility enhancements, technology upgrades and new construction to better serve the residents of Northeast Louisiana. Following the initial four-year investment, phase two will include $30-$50 million over the next 10-15 years resulting in a beautiful, new campus for St. Francis Medical Center facing the I-20 corridor.
“As we move into our next 100 years, this investment shows that we are as committed as ever to serving the people of Northeast Louisiana,” said Kristin Wolkart, president of St. Francis Medical Center. “With the latest medical technology, a revitalized campus and facility enhancements, our desire is to make patient care and experience even better than it is today.”
Work on the St. Francis Forward campaign began earlier this year and includes:
- Renovating the hospital’s kitchen, cafeteria and dining area
- Updating the hospital’s television system from analog to digital service
- Replacing approximately 250 patient beds, with an average cost of $33,000 per ICU bed, $14,000 per labor and delivery bed, and $7,000 per medical/surgical bed
- Relocating and adding state of the art technology to its 6-bed Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), the only one available in Northeast Louisiana for children needing life-saving, critical care
- Adding a new 10-bed adult ICU for patients needing a higher level of care
- Updating two pharmacy cleanrooms which are sterile areas needed for both patient and team member safety
- Adding technology to be the first hospital in Northeast Louisiana to provide these state of the art procedures:
- EBUS (endobronchial ultrasound - minimally invasive method to diagnose and stage lung cancer)
- Watchman Program (for patients with atrial fibrillation)
- Adding a new heart catheterization lab which will open later this month. This lab will give St. Francis a total of six heart catheterization procedure rooms at the downtown campus.
- Adding a hybrid surgical suite with state of the art equipment for various surgical applications which will open later this year
- Beginning a three-year renovation project to update all patient rooms, including bathroom upgrades, replacing room furnishings with more comfortable options for family members and guests, and adding new patient communication boards.
Exterior construction at the hospital will begin on August 14 as demolition begins on the skybridge structure and the old parking building. The garage structure, which is located across the street from the downtown hospital, will be removed using a safe, methodical process over the next 6-9 months. Valet parking services will be available during this construction phase for patient and visitor convenience beginning on August 13: Monday - Friday, 5:30 a.m. - 7 p.m. and Saturday - Sunday, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Expanded shuttle service is also being offered daily for those who would prefer to self-park in the 7-story parking garage. Shuttle service is provided daily from 6:30 a.m. - 7:30 p.m. with pick-up and drop-off on each floor of the parking garage. Both valet and shuttle service are provided free of charge for patients and visitors.
Construction of a helipad on top of the current St. Francis Emergency Department ambulance bay will also begin before the end of 2019. The helipad will help ensure critical patient transports are completed expediently when seconds can make the difference between life and death.
Our founding Sisters started the legacy of providing quality healthcare in Monroe over a century ago,” said Kristin Wolkart, President of St. Francis Medical Center. “It is our responsibility to perpetuate what the Sisters started and continue to move St. Francis forward during our second century. It is certainly an exciting time to be a part of the St. Francis Medical Center team as our physician partners and team members are engaged and excited about our future. We look forward to continuing our healing mission of faithfully serving those most in need throughout our community.”