Building Developments: Expanding a Caring Foundation

For many Yuma residents, the expansion that has taken place at Yuma Regional Medical Center has been visually impressive and outwardly apparent. Yet according to some employees, it is the small and simple changes that can often make the biggest difference.

Bruce Atwell, YRMC's boiler room supervisor, said that in the years he has been at the hospital its infrastructure has also expanded.

He said that throughout the 27 years he has worked at YRMC the cooling and air conditioning capacity have become more reliable and widespread.

When the hospital was first built, he said it wouldn't be unusual for the temperature to rise to levels people today would probably find unacceptable. Atwell doesn't think patients would have minded that much though.

"People were used to those extreme, harsh temperatures," he said.

Now though, Atwell said that patients are ensured comfortable conditions even in the event of a power outage. He said that the use of back-up generators can keep patients comfortable with lighting, use of medical equipment, and even air conditioning.

Compare this to a few decades ago, said Atwell, when YRMC could only guarantee limited lighting and the use of some equipment in the event of a power outage. "And of course we would get most power outages in July," he said.

Steve Matowik, YRMC's biomedical engineering supervisor, said that in some ways running the facility is akin to running a hotel.

"Each patient gets their own room now," he said, whereas several years ago semi-private rooms were the norm.

Yet it is difficult for Roger Neifert, director of facilities management, to talk about the small changes without mentioning the large-scale growth that has literally changed the face of YRMC.

He said that "the building is built in sections," with the East Wing Building being built first in 1956. The capacity for this building, which opened as Parkview Hospital in 1958, was only 75 beds, according to Michele Cohen, corporate communication specialist.

Less than 10 years later, said Neifert, the Medical East Building was added as well, which according to hospital records added 50 beds to hospital capacity.

A number of other construction projects in the 1970s and 1990s also substantially increased numbers of beds and patient capacity, according to Neifert and Cohen.

He said that between 1974 and 1978, additions were made to the West Wing and the emergency room was also expanded, bringing hospital capacity to220 beds.

A process began in 1991 to move the engineering and laundry building to make way for the Women and Children Services building, said Neifert, which added another 55 beds to the hospital, according to hospital records.

To put it in perspective, Marty Schotten, clinical resource coordinator, said that in 1979, there were only four X-ray rooms, two of which contained fluoroscopy machines, one of which contained a tomography machine, and another that was strictly X-ray.

Now Schotten said there are 10 X-ray rooms not including portable machinery.

But the most impressive addition according to Punchy Richardson, plant operations supervisor, is the new bed tower, which was completed in 2004.

Richardson, who has worked at YRMC for 25 years, said, "Well look at the towers that have gone up in 20 years."

According to Cohen, the bed tower alone added 53 beds to total hospital capacity with the potential for additional development on three "shelled" stories.

Neifert complimented Chief Executive Officer Bob Olsen's decision to leave these three floors empty so that they could be filled on an "as needed" basis.

According to Neifert, Olsen's decision to build these three additional floors before they were needed resulted in huge savings for the hospital and is also in keeping with the hospital's need for longer-term planning.

For example, Neifert said of the 479 vehicle parking garage that is currently under construction, "people think we just decided to put a parking garage up here, but we've actually been planning this for over seven years."

Also under way is the construction of four new operating room suites, said Neifert, eager to show that after 50 years of expansion YRMC will continue to grow alongside its community.