Tobey Hospital breaks ground on emergency room expansion
From left to right: Campaign for Southcoast Health Steering Committee member George Mock, Southcoast Health System and Southcoast Hospitals Group Board of Trustees Chair Jason Rua, President and CEO Keith Hovan, U.S. Rep. Bill Keating, and Tobey Emergency Department physician Dr. Sarah Bernier. Photo courtesy: Southcoast Health
From left to right: Campaign for Southcoast Health Steering Committee member George Mock, Southcoast Health System and Southcoast Hospitals Group Board of Trustees Chair Jason Rua, President and CEO Keith Hovan, U.S. Rep. Bill Keating, and Tobey Emergency Department physician Dr. Sarah Bernier. Photo courtesy: Southcoast Health
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Tobey Hospital held a ground-breaking ceremony on Friday, October 11, to kick off the expansion of the hospital’s emergency room.
The renovations will increase the emergency room to 25,000 square feet, including 27 treatment rooms — six of which will be specially designed for those experiencing mental health or substance abuse disorders.
The new facility will be able to accommodate 40,000 patients annually. Currently, Tobey Hospital sees 30,000 patients in its emergency department each year, which was built in 1987 to accommodate 15,000 patients annually.
The expansion is a $25 million project, which hospital officials hope will be completed in late 2020.
The Tobey Homestead was demolished in August to make way for the expansion, which will extend almost to Main Street. Tobey Homestead was built in 1825 and belonged to Alice Tobey Jones, the hospital’s benefactor and namesake.
The expanded emergency room will be one story, with a two-story lobby. It was designed to, in part, pay homage to the Homestead, with design features including brick, stone, the color white, and columns. There will also be a seating area for families and visitors, dubbed the Tobey Cafe, which will include historical information about the Tobey family and some salvaged pieces of the Homestead.
The extension would also require all emergency room traffic, including ambulances, to drive down Main Street and enter through a driveway located at the same place as the current Homestead driveway. The planned one-level parking lot contains roughly the same number of spots as the current emergency room lot. The parking lots accessible from High Street will stay open.
In addition to the emergency room extension, Tobey Hospital has proposed building a gazebo in Besse Park, which would be a place for community members to gather.
“This is how a community-based health system responds to community needs,” Southcoast Health President and CEO Keith Hovan said. “Patients will be treated in privacy, and families will wait in comfort. Our staff will deliver their excellent clinical care in spacious surroundings that enhance their work experience.”
The expansion of the emergency room isn’t the only big change coming to Tobey Hospital.
On August 29, Southcoast Health announced it would be closing Tobey’s maternity ward as part of a broader overhaul of maternity services, including an expansion of the department at St. Luke’s in New Bedford.
Those who would like to weigh in on the change can do so at a public hearing to be held by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, October 23, at the Rosebrook Event Center, 50 Rosebrook Place, Wareham.
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