Facilitating increase in outpatient visits a priority

By Gwendylan Harmon Cassville Democrat Intern

Mercy Hospital in Cassville is undergoing a multi-phase renovation project on its emergency room, placing a focus on expanding services and improving patient flow. 

The Hospital is undergoing renovations for the first time since 2011, when the cafeteria was added. Construction for the new emergency room is being completed in three phases, with the first phase complete and the second phase now underway. Planning for the project began around 2023, as hospital leadership worked with architects to evaluate how the hospital could better meet growing patient needs. 

Helen Luney, director of nursing and operations, said the project is progressing steadily.

With Phase 1 complete, Phase 2 focuses on remodeling the hospital’s main command and entry area to make it easier for patients to navigate when they arrive.

“When Phase 2 opens up, instead of coming into a foyer and getting lost for not knowing where to go, the patient access will be right there,” Luney said.

Additional updates during Phase 2 include moving the hospital’s stress lab to the radiology department and expanding the nuclear medicine department to accommodate new equipment.

“We already had nuclear medicine, but we’re getting a new camera, and the camera didn’t fit in our current space,” Luney said.

Luney said Phase 2 is expected to be completed by June 10, after which construction will move into the final stage of the project.

“The whole completion [date] is Oct. 24, which is the expectation of our crew,” Luney said. “In Phase 3, we’re expanding our outpatient area and adding more rooms. Hopefully, that will allow us to eventually add additional services so residents in our community don’t have to travel so far.”

Ettie Berneking, manager of media relations and communications, said the overall project is designed to support the hospital’s growing number of outpatient visits.

“When I was learning about this project, we were seeing an increase in outpatients — people who come to us needing things like wound care, infusions or injections,” Berneking said. “As we’ve seen an increase in that patient need, this project allows us to add more rooms and enhance the patient experience.”

Hospital leaders said many residents in the Cassville and Barry County area rely on the local hospital instead of traveling to larger medical centers in Springfield or Rogers for care. They hope the improvements will allow more services to remain available locally.

Luney said the hospital is grateful for the continued support of the community as the project moves forward.

“We’re thankful to our community, because our community is the one helping make this possible for us,” she said.