Boone Hospital Center
Encyclopedia
Boone Hospital Center is a county-owned not-for-profit hospital in Columbia, Missouri
Columbia, Missouri
Columbia is the fifth-largest city in Missouri, and the largest city in Mid-Missouri. With a population of 108,500 as of the 2010 Census, it is the principal municipality of the Columbia Metropolitan Area, a region of 164,283 residents. The city serves as the county seat of Boone County and as the...

. The hospital is administered by BJC HealthCare
BJC HealthCare
BJC HealthCare is a non-profit health care organization based in St. Louis, Missouri. It is the St. Louis area's—and one of Missouri's—biggest employers. BJC includes two nationally recognized academic hospitals - Barnes-Jewish Hospital and St...

, based out of St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

. The hospital is a regional referral center, providing services to twenty-five Mid-Missouri counties. The hospital employs over 2000 people, making it one of the larger employers in Columbia.

History

Built in 1921, the original Boone County Hospital was a 40 bed facility serving the citizens of Boone and surrounding counties. Due to increased demand, an addition to the facility were opened in 1954, called the Nifong Wing, after Dr. Frank Nifong, a prominent Columbia physician and fundraiser for the hospital. Voters also agreed in 1955 to fund a $3 million, 200-bed expansion that was completed in 1959. This new six-story east wing brought the total number of patient beds to 250.

By 1962, the hospital had an average of 158 patients every day within the facility and space was becoming an issue. In 1973 a new four story patient care tower was completed that added much needed space for patients, as well as additional parking for visitors. The top two floors of the tower remained unfinished until funds were available.

In 1974, workers began $290,000 worth of remodeling in the hospital wing built in 1959, updating crucial aspects of the facility infrastructure. Also completed in 1974 was a 16-bed psychiatric unit staffed by six specially trained nurses, which opened on the second floor. This facility operated until 2008, when an economic downturn forced employee layoffs.

In 1975, Boone County Hospital made great strides in the ground-breaking field of nuclear medicine with the purchase of two pieces of supplementary equipment for its "gamma camera." Thanks to this new acquisition doctors were able to get clear images of internal organs through the use of radioisotope solution injections. Shortly thereafter, it was announced that Boone County Hospital would be one of the first facilities in the nation to acquire a whole body scanner, which represented the very latest in radiological diagnosis.

A two-story wing was added in 1978 that that housed radiology, surgery, diagnostic treatment, emergency care and obstetrics. In addition, the top two floors of the patient tower built in 1973 were completed, along with 120 new parking spaces and two new elevators.

In 1982 Boone Hospital Center opened a clinic in Centralia, Missouri
Centralia, Missouri
Centralia is a city in Audrain and Boone counties in the U.S. state of Missouri. The population was 3,774 at the 2000 census.The Boone County portion of Centralia is part of the Columbia Metropolitan Statistical Area, while the Audrain County portion is part of the Mexico Micropolitan Statistical...

 to better serve the residents of northern Boone County.

Boone's board of trustees voted in 1988 to approve a ten-year lease agreement with Christian Health Services, thereby relinquishing county government's central role in the hospital's operation yet maintaining ownership of the plant and property. In 1993 Christian Health Services merged with Barnes and Jewish hospitals in St. Louis to form Barnes-Jewish-Christian Healthcare (BJC). In 2006 the board of trustees voted to continue the lease agreement with BJC Healthcare through 2015.

In 1990 the hospital's trustees purchased 24 acres (97,124.6 m²) of land across Broadway in Stephens Park and unveiled an ambitious long-range expansion plan for the existing hospital facility as well as the 24 acres (97,124.6 m²). The first phase of the plan remodeled the front entrance and lobby, created a new out-patient surgery waiting area, cardiac catheterization facilities and a women's health center. Medical office buildings were constructed on the property to the north of the hospital, called the Broadway Medical Plaza, and were connected to the hospital by a covered pedestrian walkway that now spanning Broadway.

In 2005, the hospital became the first Mid-Missouri facility to receive the Magnet designation from the American Nurses Credentialing Center, and it also was honored as one of the nation’s top 100 hospitals by Thomson Reuters in 2010.

The Nephrology Wound Clinic at BHC received two hyperbaric chambers in 2008. Previously University Hospital
University hospital
A university hospital is an institution which combines the services of a hospital with the education of medical students and with medical research. These hospitals are typically affiliated with a medical school or university...

had the only hyperbaric chambers in mid-Missouri
In 2009 the hospital opened The Spine Center, a specialized-care unit on the fifth floor. The 14784 square feet (1,373.5 m²) center features 20 private rooms, a room for physical and occupational therapy, a family/relaxation room, a redesigned nurses’ station and a classroom for pre-operation classes. The project cost $1.8 million and was paid for with hospital operating funds.

Boone Hospital Center completed a 940-space parking garage located on the west side of the hospital in 2010 and broke ground on a new seven-story, 128-room patient tower. The entire project, including landscaping along William Street, will cost about $125 million. BHC funded the project by selling $100 million in municipal bonds, and the remaining $25 million will be paid for by funds designated by the hospital’s Board of Trustees. The tower is to be finished in spring 2011.

In 2010 Boone Hospital Center unveiled the first "high-field" open MRI machine in mid-Missouri. The machine can be used for patients too large to fit into a traditional closed MRI, or who suffer from claustrophobia issues.

Emergency Services

Boone Hospital operates four ambulances in Boone County. They are located at bases in Centralia, the northeast side of Columbia, and on the Boone Hospital grounds. They, along with the University Hospital ambulance service, provide emergency care for the entire county.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK