April 5, 2019
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Carrie McCance| Community Relations Coordinator | (309) 344-3161
(Galesburg, IL April 5, 2019) OSF HealthCare St. Mary Medical Center will begin an extensive brick and window replacement project on Monday, April 8. The renovation will replace as many as 235,000 bricks and140 windows over the next two years. The hospital building was constructed in 1974 and the improvements are necessary to sustain the building and protect the safety of our Mission Partners, visitors and patients.
OSF St. Mary will continue to provide the full spectrum of services currently offered without interruption. Unfortunately, with construction of this kind, there will be noise. It will be the loudest in the precise area of construction.
“The safety and well-being of our patients, Mission Partners and visitors is our top priority during this renovation, so we are asking our guests to be vigilant during this time by following instructions on posted signs and please do not enter the construction zone as we work hard to update our infrastructure,” said Don Shadensack, Vice President of Operations. “We apologize for any noise that may occur and we will do our best to make this transition easy for our patients.”
To mitigate the impact, all patients requiring a hospital stay will be given special comfort care kits that will include among other things, earplugs and resources on the OSF St. Mary website including links to soothing sounds and guided meditation.
OSF St. Mary plans on shutting down two patient rooms at a time on each floor during the project. Dust will not impact patients or Mission Partners because it will be trapped in the containments and removed via negative air to the outside or via air filtration. Debris will be limited to the outside construction area surrounded by fencing. CORE construction will be heading up the project.
“This renovation project will allow us to add steel reinforcement between the current CMU (concrete masonry unit or concrete block) and the brick to meet today’s structural requirements,” said Kory Tinkham, project manager for OSF St. Mary. “We need to upgrade the structural and exterior components of the building for better weather proofing and energy efficiency.”
The brick color has been selected to match as closely with what’s currently on the building façade. The manufacturer guarantees the supply will continue to be available in case of future expansion.
Visitors should check our social media platforms and the St. Mary Medical Center website for ongoing construction updates.