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McCullough-Hyde Memorial Hospital — TriHealth has launched a $2 million fundraising campaign to pay for renovations of the emergency department and surgical suites
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Call the development office about giving at 513-664-3850
Campaign co-chairs are Alan and Diane Oak, and Jack and Sandra Cotter
McCullough-Hyde Memorial Hospital has received its single largest gift in hospital history, a contribution that has helped kick off a new fundraising campaign to renovate the Oxford emergency department and surgical suites.
The hospital, which affiliated with Cincinnati-area health system TriHealth earlier this year, has launched a $2 million capital campaign to help cover some cost of the expansion and renovations, said McCullough-Hyde President and Chief Executive Officer Bryan Hehemann. The project's total price tag is over $12 million.
TriHealth is also contributing approximately $2.5 million and the remaining costs will be funded by debt and hospital operations, he said.
Thanks to a $1 million donation from Gerald and Marie Katz, McCullough-Hyde’s single largest gift ever, the campaign is more than halfway to its $2 million goal, according to Hehemann and Mary Bennett, chief development officer. The hospital auxiliary, the hospital trust’s single biggest donor over time, has also committed about $125,000, they said.
When the new emergency center opens next summer, it will be renamed the Howard and Mary Jane Bruns Emergency Department after donor Marie Katz’ parents who are Brookville, Ind.-area natives.
“What better way to really give a new life or energy to a little small town hospital,” Marie Katz said.
When TriHealth and McCullough-Hyde sealed an affiliation agreement at the beginning of the year, the renovations were part of the deal in which TriHealth took a majority interest in the Butler County hospital operations.
Currently, the Oxford emergency department is about 7,000-square-feet. Construction is set to begin this month on renovation work that will see emergency services grow to about 15,000-square-feet.
Most of the space will be converted from existing floorplans, but about 3,000-square-feet of new building will be added, Hehemann said.
After the new emergency department opens next year, the next phase will see renovations of surgery suites including an additional suite to be added for four total operating rooms planned to open in 2017, he said.
“The emergency department plans are to really improve the patron experience, work efficiency of the space to create larger treatment bays… separate our ambulance and paramedic squad from our walk-in patients… and to create better visibility of the rooms from the centralized nursing station,” he said.
“We really feel the emergency department and surgery suite expansion renovation is going to put us in a position to improve staff and patient experiences… and be much more efficient,” he said.
All donations to the McCullough-Hyde Trust are for the purposes of supporting facilities, equipment and programs in Oxford only, Hehemann and Bennett said.
For rural Brookville, Oxford and surrounding areas, McCullough-Hyde is the closest hospital, Gerald and Marie Katz said. Even though the couple now lives in California, Marie came to appreciate the shorter drive to the Oxford hospital compared to downtown Cincinnati during a family visit several years ago when she experienced a rapid heart rate.
But having the latest state-of-the-art equipment costs money, she said.
“We’re hoping the more word that gets out there, it’ll pop in people’s minds” to give, she said.
Their gift also continues a family tradition as her maternal relatives are part of the hospital’s founding Hyde family and namesake, she said.
“We would encourage people to give because it’s clear to us McCullough-Hyde plays a key role in the Greater Oxford-Southern Indiana area for providing health care and it’s key that they have the right tools available,” Gerald Katz said.
In addition to Oxford, more health care construction is on the way locally with a groundbreaking scheduled for Thursday of The Christ Hospital Health Network's new Liberty Twp. medical center.
Also, Cincinnati Eye Institute broke ground Sept. 30 for a new medical office building at the Atrium Medical Center campus in Middletown.
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