Trinity RI gets key to hospital addition

About 19 months ago, rain forced groundbreaking ceremonies to be held under a tent, but a ceremony marking UnityPoint Health-Trinity's official ownership of a $63 million addition was held on a frigid Tuesday in the comfort of its new heart center's lobby.

Executives from Trinity and some area builders wore big smiles as a large ornate key was passed from Dan Meyers, the project director for the contractor, and Rick Seidler, the Trinity president and CEO.

The project that got underway June 5, 2013, has gone quite smoothly and will end up under budget, said Jay Willsher, the chief operations officer at Trinity.

"It's an exciting day for us," Seidler said, pointing out that it is the largest addition in the history of the complex at 2701 17th St., originally constructed in 1972 as Franciscan Hospital.

The addition includes the heart center as well as an enlarged emergency medicine department. Importantly, it adjoins the Robert Young Center for Community Mental Health. Included are six special rooms called "crisis stabilization units," which are for behavioral health patients.

Those units and an adjoining room setting are designed to calm agitated patients. The concept has received attention from hospitals across the United States, Seidler said.

The addition encompasses 90,000 square feet and is three stories high.

The ceremony represented the awarding of Trinity's "certificate of occupancy" from the city of Rock Island. That means it meets all city standards, regulations or codes for its intended purposes, allowing the owner to occupy the space.

Before the doors open officially to public use, the addition must be cleaned, equipment moved in and employees trained. Approval also is needed from state regulators, Seidler said. The target date for the addition to open is April 19.

Marika Jones of the Trinity Health Foundation announced that $6.2 million was raised locally for the project, $200,000 over the $6 million goal. The money came from physicians, staff members and others in the community.

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Trinity RI gets key to hospital addition