Campbell County Memorial Hospital near Gillette, WY
The Gillette, WY regional healthcare hub is adding new services, spaces and specialists to meet the health-care needs of northeast Wyoming.
Gillette’s regional health-care hub is growing. Campbell County Memorial Hospital is adding new services, spaces and specialists to meet the health-care needs of northeast Wyoming.
“We are fortunate to provide the facilities and types of physicians that you’d normally see in a much larger community,” says CCMH interim CEO Andy Fitzgerald, FHFMA. “Access to health care is one of the things that contribute to a great quality of life.”
Growth at CCMH
A three-year, $68 million expansion of the hospital was completed in December 2012 to accommodate the growth within the community and at CCMH. The addition includes extensive interior remodeling, a parking structure, a helipad, and a new surgical unit featuring larger operating suites and enhanced pre- and post-surgical rooms.
The expansion also paved the way for new technology to be implemented. Family and friends of patients undergoing surgery at CCMH can now track the progress of their loved ones as they move from pre-operation into surgery and out into recovery, thanks to a large TV monitor in the surgery waiting area next to the coffee shop. And, surgery patients can opt to receive a video via email that outlines pre-operation instructions as well as personalized instructions from their physician after their procedure—the first hospital in Wyoming to test such technology.
Health Care in the Gillette, WY Area
In 2013, CCMH will break ground on a $30 million, 144-bed nursing home to provide long-term and transitional care as well as short-term rehabilitation. The continuum of care also include palliative, or comfort, care and end of life care at Close to Home, the new hospice house located across the street from the hospital.
“We have a fast-growing segment of retirees who should have confidence about the level of care available here,” Fitzgerald says. Another valuable tool for seniors is the addition of geriatric specialist Bernadette Meade, D.O., who joined CCMH in 2011.
“CCMH is very proactive and supportive of doctors,” Meade says. “They are willing to get the best technology, facilities and staff to provide great medical care to the community. I’m very happy to be here.”
Additional services at CCMH include 14 specialty clinics, dialysis, medical and radiation oncology, an intensive care unit, behavioral health services, and rehabilitation services. Plans for future growth include expanded radiology services, cardiology program and cardiac cath lab.
Providing Education, Experience
The hospital also provides real-world experience to nursing students at Gillette College. In 2008, CCMH, the city and the college partnered to build the Herbert A. and Dorothy P. Carter Health Science Education Center, home to the Gillette College Nursing Program and CCMH’s clinical education services. The hospital supplies two full-time faculty members for the nursing program, and employs many nursing graduates.
“We’re heavily involved in investing in the future of health care practitioners,” says Fitzgerald. “CCMH is one of the community’s largest employers, with some 1,200 people throughout CCMH’s health care system.
Setting Standards for Patient Care
As health care evolves, CCMH is learning how to adapt their processes and capabilities to better engage and inform patients, according to Fitzgerald. “We put our patients and residents at the center of everything we do by listening to their concerns, understanding their needs, honoring their choices and keeping them informed.”
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