By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
Construction is coming along for the Clara Barton Medical Clinic in Great Bend. The Hoisington hospital expanded into Great Bend in 2015 with a clinic on Jackson Square. Outgrowing the space, Clara Barton started construction on a new Great Bend clinic on South McKinley Street, just east of Dillons, this past spring.
CEO Jim Blackwell said the Great Bend location is
expected to be finished by March 2022 and will include a 1,056-foot walking
trail with an outdoor classroom.
"Great Bend has very nice park facilities and walking trails," said Blackwell. "This wasn't meant to compete with those. It's for those that don't have a lot of time and want to make a couple loops around the hospital. Also, it gives the elderly population an option locally to make the connection with a healthier lifestyle."
Clara Barton’s surgical clinic in Great Bend is currently open one day a week.
The new facility will keep it open every day along with two procedure rooms.
Meanwhile, construction is ongoing at Clara Barton’s hospital in
Hoisington. Creating extra space will allow for a new surgical clinic, imaging
center and remodels to the surgery department, emergency room, lab, pharmacy
and hospital lobby. Blackwell was pleased with the progress in Hoisington
despite crews having to be patient while the hospital is still open to the
public.
"They have to be careful not to trip on a main water line or electrical lines," said Blackwell. "The project ends up going a little slower. We're also landlocked and parking is a premium, it makes things tight. I've been happy with our staff, the community and construction crews to exercise patience to get through those complexities at the Hoisington property."
Completion of the renovation at the Hoisington hospital will come in phases
next year, with the final interior upgrades finishing in October 2022.