Southwest Memorial Hospital dealt with rapid relocation of its rehabilitation and administrative services earlier this summer following a destructive storm that rendered the south wing in need of total repair.
Jaycee Hart, spokesperson for Southwest Health System, estimates 60 employees from 10 departments were directly affected, whether facing relocation of workstations or restoring technology to continue seeing patients.
“Roughly 100 staff members helped out during this time, from plant operations, materials, patient access, and IT, (it) played a huge part in helping – it was really imperative we got the technology up and running,” Hart said.
On the patient side, the only loss was two days of physical therapy.
Torrential hail briefly swept Cortez in late July. It punched large holes in the oldest roofs on campus. While the monsoonal patterns are unpredictable, hospital staff commented on the weather event’s intensity alone, noting it seemed the community had not felt such destruction in decades.
The section targeted by hail is from the 1970s and is receiving a brand-new TPO (thermoplastic polyolefin) roof, as well as significant interior restoration work by the company Signal Restoration Services.
It was the first building built, initially to house a nursing home – the campus has since expanded or been remodeled three times.
The roof leaks collapsed ceiling grids, exposed beams and damaged walls and floors across the wing for revenue and finance operations, human resources, the pharmacy director’s office and other administrative work, as well as – crucially – the physical and speech therapy units.
Employees first sketched out room designs on paper to prioritize patient safety and available space. Within two days, staff assembled a temporary rehabilitation gym near the hospital’s main entrance and grand staircase in the newer wing, completed in 2018.
Ten staff members across departments used dollies to move exercise gear and dissembled machines over one weekend.
“Almost every machine was in pieces,” said Brenton Wright, the director of Rehabilitation Services. “They were able to put it together in two days.”
“I have a great team. They got in just as early as they normally do. The cool thing is seeing everyone get together and work on this,” Wright said. “Their love for wanting to see patients is probably what got it done in two days rather than just me saying, ‘Hey, you’re going to see patients on this day. Get it together.’”
In the meantime, desks, chairs, computers, and an array of printers and scanners for nearly 40 administrative employees were relocated across a scattered assemblage of conference rooms, partitioned spaces, remote setups and even the EMS building.
“Everybody's up and running and settled into their new homes as of right now. So, just waiting to move back home. But everybody has had a really positive attitude and has been resilient,” said Rochelle Glover, director of revenue cycle.
Glover – who was hired over the summer – said she reassured staff not to panic, letting them know information technology and movers would handle moving items over the weekend. On a positive side, Glover said, the move accelerated a fully electronic workflow, allowing remote approvals for their interim chief financial officer.
CEO Joe Theine celebrated the employees’ hard work and adaptability during the relocation; the system employs more than 400 people.
“It’s really amazing when you work in an industry like this,” Theine said. “People are attracted here because they care about something bigger than themselves and we just rise to it. It sounds cliche and oversimple, but it’s true.”
Theine said the damage, losses and repairs will be covered by the insurance carrier, requiring the system pay only its $25,000 deductible.
Two contractors are on site, Signal for site management and interior work and the roofing company, Farha. Kyle Tomlin, Signal’s national project director, said crews are operating around-the-clock, though weather is a variable and three days of monsoonal rain can set progress back by five days.
“The desire would be that the roof is completely done and secured before our first snow – I can’t predict when that'll be, but ideally that's what we will do,” Theine said. “The interior work can continue.”
Theine said facilities remain fully open without interruption in service. He noted the hospital finished a busy July and August regardless of the construction.
awatson@the-journal.com
