Upgraded inpatient care unit opened at Evans Memorial Hospital

EVANS COUNTY, Ga. (WTOC) - Staff cut the ribbon on an upgraded inpatient care unit at Evans Memorial Hospital on Tuesday.

Nurses are welcoming the $300,000 renovation as they say it will help them deliver better care more quickly to patients.

“This has been a much-needed upgrade for a very long time,” said Monica Pacheco-Diaz, the chief nursing officer.

The hospital unveiling the Jack and Muriel Strickland Inpatient Unit. Ten rooms with upgraded technology that nurses say will increase their capacity to 23 patients.

“Our rooms here have not been touched for probably the last 35 years. And so, for us to be able to upgrade, update and bring forth new technologies, it really is about caring for patients and safety, and making sure that we are providing the best care in a rural community that we can,” Evans Memorial CEO Bill Lee said.

“We have upgraded oxygen supply and medical air and we also have state of the art patient monitoring systems and better capabilities for respiratory therapy as well,” Pacheco-Diaz said.

Lee said the funding for the upgrades came from the Jack Strickland Foundation, a longtime partner of Evans Memorial.

“Over the years they’ve given millions of dollars to support programs, and so this was just one more opportunity for them to fulfill the vision of what they saw that we have here to ensure our long-term stabilization and stability for supporting our community and our patients,” Lee said.

The unveiling comes amid a nursing shortage as staff hope the new upgrades will help them work faster.

“It makes us more efficient and with efficiency, we are able to provide more care for more patients at any given time,” Pacheco-Diaz said.

Nurses say the rooms allow them to stay connected with the hospital’s values.

A boost for staff as the nursing shortage continues.

“That is a very nice reminder, especially at 3:00 in the morning,” Pacheco-Diaz said.

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