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3/19/2004 |
Economic Development |
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Groundbreaking Ceremony Held For Kings Mountain Hospital Expansion |
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Groundbreaking Ceremony Held For Kings Mountain Hospital Expansion
March 19, 2004
KINGS MOUNTAIN, N.C. -- Kings Mountain Hospital officially broke ground on an $8 million construction project early Wednesday morning, March 17. The expansion will include approximately 26,876 square feet of new hospital space while 6,284 square feet will be renovated. Upon completion, the new hospital will cover a total of 116, 263 square feet, a 30 percent increase from its current size.
Hospital CEO and President John Young described the event as an “exciting moment” and paid homage to past administrator Grady Howard and John Henry Moss, former Kings Mountain Mayor. “We’re standing on the shoulders of some tall people who have come before us,” Young stated.
J.C. Bridges, a Kings Mountain Hospital board member for 24 years, remembered receiving emergency medical care at the Shelby facility after breaking his arm as a child. “Ever since that time I’ve been interested in a hospital for Kings Mountain,” he said.
Included in the expansion is a new front for the hospital with a remodeled entry lobby. A two-story rotunda will face King Street, with the second floor housing out patient surgery waiting. New pre and post-operative rooms and surgery suites will be added as well. Physical therapy will occupy a section to the left of the rotunda which is currently a drive through. Administrative offices which are now located behind the drive through will be relocated, and a cafeteria may occupy the first floor of the rotunda if funds allow. The emergency department will also undergo an expansion with plans for the ambulance delivery area to be separate from the walk-in entrance.
While the impending construction is impressive, Young emphasized that the focus remain on the people. “Buildings are not what it’s about, it’s about the people,” he stated.
The expansion is funded through $7.6 million in hospital funds and $450,000 in grants, including one from the Duke Endowment.
Kings Mountain Hospital and Cleveland Regional Medical Center merged 18 months ago, forming one healthcare system which serves the entire county in addition to western Gaston County and a portion of upstate South Carolina.
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