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TEAM EFFORT LEADS TO RELOCATION
OF THE BELLEVUE HOSPITAL FACILITY

So what does it take to completely move and relocate an 88,000-square-foot hospital?

The answer just might surprise you.

Health Care Relocations (HCR), a company out of Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, specializing in hospital and medical relocation, has been given the challenging task of moving The Bellevue Hospital (TBH) – department by department – in the span of eight days. But, according to HCR President Pat Moriarty, this move to TBH’s 129,000-square-foot replacement facility at 1400 West Main Street “has been a treat for us.”

And, it is all being done in this short time span with a couple of trucks, 130 gondolas (HCR’s three-shelved, wooden boxes on wheels), 250 totes, and 16 HCR employees.

“From our standpoint, this move has been going great,” continued Moriarty.

 “The new TBH facility is absolutely gorgeous – one of the nicest hospitals we have ever been in. The staff here has been great to work with and they are all very eager to get in to their new departments. Everyone is having fun, including us.”

Even though it might seem simple on paper, the planning for such a flawless move begins early in the game – about 18 months before a medical facility is scheduled to move.

“We have been working with Janet Runner (Vice President of Nursing Services at TBH) for the past 18 months. Because of her help and everyone’s planning that has gone into this project, the move has been just great so far,” added Moriarty.

“We need at least 12 months of planning, more if we can get it. The TBH staff has just been great to work with.”

Michael K. Winthrop, President and CEO of TBH, also has nothing but praise for everyone involved with the project. “For us, this move has been fantastic. The personnel from HCR are efficient, courteous, and they are ahead of schedule,” noted Winthrop.

“Really, the move has gone effortlessly and as planned. There have been no problems that have prevented us from operating the two campuses simultaneously.”

The move began on Monday, March 7 and will end Monday, March 14. Each day, employees in several departments pack up their belongings into the gondolas and totes before the gondolas are shrink-wrapped, loaded onto the trucks, transferred to the new facility, wheeled off the trucks, and into the departments for the employees to unload.

The current 811 Northwest Street facility will remain open until 7 a.m. on Sunday, March 13, at which time the new hospital opens for business at 1400 West Main Street.

“We stopped elective surgeries on Wednesday (March 9),” explained Winthrop. “Our elective surgery schedule will resume on Monday morning, March 14 at the new hospital. We are still handling emergency surgeries at 811 Northwest Street and will continue to do so until our move is complete.”

TBH officials are asking the general public to stay off the grounds of the new facility until the patient move is completed sometime on Sunday morning.

The hospital cafeteria officially opens to staff members and the general public at 11:45 a.m.

“We will move the patients beginning around 7 a.m. or so,” added Moriarty. “Local ambulance personnel will assist us in getting the patients from their bed to a stretcher. From there, HCR staff will move the patients from the floor to the front door, where ambulance personnel will once again assist with loading of patients into the ambulances.

Once at the new facility, HCR personnel will then move each patient right into their new room. All total, it should take around two hours to move the patients using three ambulances and a wheelchair van, said Moriarty, whose staff performs 10-12 facility relocations each calendar year.”

Prior to moving TBH, Moriarty’s staff took 16 days to relocate the British Columbia (Canada) Cancer Agency, a team of 61 research scientists and their labs. Once TBH’s move is complete, HCR moves on to Tarry Sound, Ontario, Canada to relocate the Tarry Sound Hospital to a replacement facility, and next up will be the relocation of the U.C.L.A. Westwood Campus Hospital in Los Angeles, a 1.3-million-square-foot facility relocation.

The HCR staff will be in Bellevue until March 14 until the move is completed by consolidating whatever is left in the original facility to storage or warehouse space, according to Moriarty.

The original 88-year-old facility on Northwest Street will still house the OPEN MRI machine for the near future, according to Winthrop, who noted that his staff is currently in discussion with outside entities about the future use of the Northwest Street facility.

Those with questions about the move or the opening day schedule can contact TBH’s administrative team at (419) 483-4040, Ext. 4200.
 

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The Bellevue Hospital, 1400 W. Main Street - P O Box 8004, Bellevue, Ohio  44811-8004    419-483-4040
Last modified: 06/27/05