CEO: Project should be done by summer

With the third and final phase of a $100 million renovation and expansion project at Thibodaux Regional Medical Center nearing completion, the hospital is poised to become a powerhouse in the Bayou Region’s medical service sector.

The $26 million expansion that will triple the size of their emergency medical facilities is about two-thirds complete, said CEO Greg Stock, and should open its doors later this summer. The project will also more than double the size of the hospital’s food service area.

The new emergency room, which is expected to treat 30,000 to 40,000 people a year, was designed with critical imaging facilities, such as CT scanners, near the emergency room to cut down on patient transfers and wait times.

“We believe the flow will be very efficient,” said Stock. “It will allow quicker, better, faster treatment.”

The $100 million project has also placed a great emphasis on technology at TRMC.

“We feel that we’re a technological leader. We feel like we have been for years, and this furthers that cause,” said Stock.

A new and expanded gift shop is also slated for the project, whose profits will be put back into technology and patient care equipment.

The hospital has already completed the first two phases of the project, which included a new heart center, a five-story office complex, three new floors of patient rooms, and major improvements to their cancer center.

“It allows a physician a great place to practice,” said Stack.

The project, which started just before Hurricane Katrina hit the area, has had to wait out and recover from four hurricanes, which has pushed the project back about a year, said Stock.

Aside from improvements to patient facilities, the project has also improved disaster infrastructure, including a new set of back-up generators.

Expansion to the hospital has allowed TRMC to grow its staff as well. In the last 15 years, the hospital’s staff has swelled from 42 people on its active medical staff to 230 today, said Stock.

Through what Stock called “careful management,” the hospital has been able to undergo such major expansion without incurring any debt. In fact, TRMC retired all of its active debt about 7 years ago.

“A lot of it comes down to day to day decisions,” said Stock. “We have a mission to be an excellent hospital and we have very specific ways we go about instilling that in our leadership.”

In the midst of such rapid expansion, TRMC has not lost site of its patient, and has even won awards from J.D. Power and Associates and Press-Ganey for patient satisfaction.

“We treat patients from a five-parish area,” said Stock. “New technology and new physicians has grown our appeal. Thibodaux Regional has really began to differentiate itself in the region.”

Thibodaux Regional Medical Center is vying to become a powerhouse in the Bayou Region’s medical service sector with a $100 million renovation and expansion project. * Photo by BRETT SCHWEINBERG