Community Checks out Sacred Heart

A trip to the hospital is not usually a pleasant experience, but Saturday's Sacred Heart Hospital on the Gulf Open House proved an exception.

Visitors could barely contain their delight as they mingled with the staff of the new Port St. Joe hospital, which officially opens on Monday.

"I think they haven't spared anything – first class, state of the art, wonderful staff," said a smiling Jerry Stokoe, who strolled the shiny halls with wife, Lyd.

Sandra Glenister, a New Yorker who vacations each year on Cape San Blas, called the hospital "mind-boggling."

Having an emergency room close to her vacation home made Glenister feel more secure.

"I think it's definitely needed. It's too far to get to Bay (Medical Center) or the other hospitals if you're in an emergency, especially at the Cape. It takes nine minutes just to get off the Cape and another nine to Port St. Joe," she noted.

A fully staffed, 24-hour emergency room is just one of the many features of the $38 million facility.

The hospital has 15 private rooms, in-patient acute care services, diagnostic and imaging equipment and a helipad for rapid transport.

A medical office building, slated for a fall opening, will house a women's diagnostic center (including mammography and ultrasound), rehabilitation and dialysis services, along with primary care and specialty physicians.

Though the hospital will not have an intensive care unit, it has the next best thing – a staff of nurses trained to handle medical emergencies.

Patient care manager Judy Mahan said that all nurses who have been hired thus far have at least five years of intensive care training. Mahan has 35 years of experience.

In addition to a highly trained staff, the hospital has a growing guild of dedicated volunteers.

St. Joe Beach resident Shirley Rich will volunteer four hours each week in the emergency room, aiding physicians and nurses.

Rich brings 35 years' experience as an ER nurse, a job that taught her the value of dedicated volunteers.

Though times have changed since Rich worked in the hospital, she said she is prepared to clean stretchers, change sheets, transport patients and be a shoulder to lean on.

"Some people need people and that's what we do. You're a comforter. 'Are you warm enough, honey? Can I get you a blanket.' My expectation is to be a gopher – do anything that needs to be done," Rich said.

Trish Warriner has signed on as president of the growing volunteer guild.

Her husband, David, worked to secure donations as a board member with the Sacred Heart Foundation, the hospital's fund-raising arm.

Having been involved with the hospital since its inception, Warriner called the March 15 opening a "monumental occasion."

"We've been without a hospital for a long time. We're excited for the people in our community that they can have a place to go with their emergencies - that they can be treated in their community," said Warriner.

Warriner has already led the guild's first board meeting and solicited local pastor Dave Fernandez as the guild's "sprititual advisor."

In addition to providing high quality healthcare, the hospital has provided jobs for many local residents.

At the hospital's Feb. 17 blessing and dedication, Sacred Heart Hospital on the Gulf president Roger Hall said people born or raised in Gulf County represented 30 percent of new hires.

Anna Tankersley, a 2003 Port St. Joe High School graduate, embodied wide-eyed enthusiasm as she welcomed visitors in for a look at the CT scanner.

Tankersley, a CT technician, previously worked at Gulf Coast Hospital. She welcomed the chance to work in her home community.

"I'm so happy that there's something for me to do," she said.

Tankersley called the CT scanner a "top-of-the-line machine" capable of identifying virtually "every pathology there is."

She could not wait to fire it up on March 15.

"I'm ready for it to open," said Tankersley, smiling anxiously. "I'm ready to start radiating people."