Readying for the Public

Roughly six weeks from swinging the doors open to the public the Sacred Heart Hospital of the Gulf Coast is a beehive.

There is equipment coming in on a daily basis at the back loading dock. Technicians are testing crash carts and diagnostic machines. Computers are being installed and booted. A sparkling new kitchen is taking shape off the cafeteria.

The hiring is in full swing and the corps of volunteers is growing by the week.

What was a shell just months ago during a summer open house, with pipes visible in the ceiling and most of the patient areas just being sketched in has taken on the look of a glistening hospital ready to handle the first patients when the doors open on March 15.

“I think the community will be very, very proud of this hospital,” said Roger Hall, president of the Sacred Heart facility in Destin and acting president of the hospital in Port St. Joe. “When people say ‘you are talking about a 25-bed hospital, how could it cost almost $40 million?’ Now you see.”

Britt Greene, president and CEO of The St. Joe Company, which donated land and construction dollars, said, “This hospital is vitally important to the economy. A lot of cities would love to have a Sacred Heart Hospital operated by Ascension Health Care and you have that.”

What the community has is a modern, airy and spacious facility.

The front lobby is open and flooded with outside light from windows across the three exterior walls. The lobby features a chapel and three check-in areas carefully enclosed behind glass doors to allow the maximum of privacy.

The check-in area leads to the diagnostic and treatment areas, including the emergency room, which is situated on one side of the building, with a helipad adjacent.

A nursing station provides a view of the entire emergency area, including a contamination room in the event of a patient arriving having been injured by contact with chemicals or other caustic materials.

The emergency area is of particular emphasis for Sacred Heart, which prides itself on not transforming a trip to the emergency room as a marathon of patience.

“Our goal is to have a two-hour limit for being treated at the emergency room,” Hall noted.

The hospital will open with 17 private patient rooms with the ability to add more as demand increases.

“The nice thing is everything is expandable,” Hall said. “We have built-in space to expand. It’s much better to build it and shell it in for later.”

Two operating rooms are part of the initial shell, though only one is outfitted and will be ready on opening day. Patient demand will dictate when the second is up and running.

Sacred Heart also has the latest in hospital bells and whistles.

There is a mobile MRI machine for use in the emergency room and federal funding secured by Congressman Allen Boyd (D-North Florida) will fund a mammography machine.

Sacred Heart has signed a contract with Tallassee Orthopedics Center (TOC) to provide orthopedic services to the hospital and there will be an on-site radiologist and pharmacist for hospital patients.

Sacred Heart of the Emerald Coast in Destin will provide distant radiology readings and provide back-up for other services provided at Sacred Heart of the Gulf Coast, such as reading X-rays and filling needed prescriptions at night.

When a medical office building is completed in late summer, Hall estimated a July or August opening, dialysis, physical therapy, occupational therapy and other diagnostic services will be offered on an out-patient basis.

“We will have the specialties of a 400-bed hospital in a 25-bed facility, which is pretty remarkable,” Hall said.

Ed Nelson, executive director of the county Economic Development Council said, “Sacred Heart Hospital is going to be a big catalyst for this county. Not only the hospital, but the ancillary services that will come with it.”

The hiring process has been a process of winnowing from a deep pool. Hall said that the hospital has had more than 600 applications for 104 available jobs.

“We want to run a high-quality hospital and are hiring the best quality candidates,” Hall said. “The amazing thing is that one-third of the folks we’ve hired are from the area and want to come back to the area but there are no jobs.

“When you know you are bringing in those kind of folks it is very rewarding.”

Further, the hospital is nearly two-thirds to its target of having 100 volunteers – important cogs in the wheels of Sacred Heart health care – by opening. Some 60 volunteers have already signed up with more names trickling in.

“For a community this size to have 60 volunteers is wonderful,” Hall said. “Volunteers are our billboards. And they help us assess the quality of care we are providing and give us valuable feedback. That is essential to our mission.”

Hall said the hospital will bring more than jobs and an economic engine for growth to the community.

When Sacred Heart of the Emerald Coast opened more than a decade ago the mortality rate for citizens of Walton County was 904 for every 100,000 people, roughly 25 percent above the state average.

Today that number is roughly 700 per 100,000.

“That’s hundreds of people in Walton County who are walking around who would not be without increased medical care,” Hall said.

The next key date is Feb. 18 when a special dedication and blessing ceremony will take place.

There will be an open house for the public the first week of March and in the weeks prior to opening Hall said the hospital will begin the process of securing its Certificate of Occupancy.

And on March 15, 39 days from the date of this paper and five years and 21 days since the closing of Gulf Pines Hospital, Gulf County will have a new hospital owned and operated by Ascension Health Care, of which Sacred Heart is a subsidiary and which is one of the largest health care providers in the country.

Take a drive by on Highway 98 and feel the pride.