Full Story from Edmond Sun
http://www.edmondsun.com/local/x962029574/Mercy-breaks-ground-on-88-million-facility

"The $88 million, 200,000-square-foot Edmond health facility will serve as a prototype for all of Mercy across Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas and Missouri, and it will sit on 25 acres of land off the I-35 Frontage Road, south of 15th Street in Edmond."

Artist Rendering
http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l527/mrktguy29/screen-capture-4.png

I just don't see this working out too well. Just simply because you have a large group of the population that thinks their healthcare should be a free luxury they have a right to use and abuse in the same manner they use and abuse public schools, public parks and community centers.

In theory this is the direction should be going in this day in age. (People working with healthcare providers to avoid surgeries and hospitalization that are the result of unhealthy living and managing genetic health problems before they become disasters.)

To me, this is nothing more than Mercy trying to hang on to their Edmond Clientele they have enjoyed serving over the years. They know as soon as INTEGRIS is open many will stop making the drive to Memorial and Meridian. They know if they loose that Clientele they will have to start serving the working class and the poor to keep the doors open.

After all the unwashed are moving closer and closer to Memorial Road.

i also wonder about the relationship between the OU affiliated Edmond hospital with the facilities and physicians at the OU health sciences center. To me the relationship seems very weak. Could this be a potential goldmine?

The only reason why Edmond is under the OU name is because both hospitals are operated by Columbia. In a round about way the relationship with OU has been in place for several years. I think the OU branding was brought into existence because Edmond Medical Center knew INTEGRIS's new hospital would take away many of their patients especially since INTEGRIS Edmond will have Labor/Delivery. They are most likely thinking the OU branding will keep them afloat.

Is officially open, well... the majority of it is.


Mercy Edmond I-35 announces grand opening

EDMOND — Mercy Edmond I-35 Administrator Nick Niver is rightly proud of the facility he manages.

Located at 15th Street and I-35, from the tiered landscaping and water feature, to the architectural design that incorporates an abundance of windows that connect with nature, to the lighting and decorative touches throughout and to the state-of-the-art fitness center, the 206,000-square-foot, $90 million facility looks warm and inviting.

It also offers a lap swimming pool, a heated rehabilitation pool, a fitness pool, a child care center for patient and fitness center member use, OB/GYN, cardiology, radiology, dermatology and general surgery services.

On Tuesday, much of the facility opened, and the remaining parts will be open in phases by the end of July, Niver said as he took The Edmond Sun on a tour late Thursday. Members of the 250-strong staff will celebrate a grand opening from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today of the Mercy Fitness Center.

Guests will be able to join the center and save $150 and register for other prizes including two VIP tickets to the U.S. Senior Open Championship July 7-13 at Oak Tree National.

Evidence of the May 19, 2013, tornado — which caused $30 million worth of damage and delayed the facility’s opening by a year — is gone.

http://d6673sr63mbv7.cloudfront.net/archive/x611388119/g0002580000000000005e32c13312b3ecb39bbbebd36b021de 3a75711b4.jpg

- See more at: Mercy Edmond I-35 announces grand opening » Local News » The Edmond Sun (http://www.edmondsun.com/local/x1760083927/Mercy-Edmond-I-35-announces-grand-opening#sthash.RnAsrHv4.dpuf)

Another nice article from the Oklahoman


he windows that were once broken and covered with boards. Young trees have been replanted and are standing upright again.

Water aerobics class in a swimming pool at Mercy Edmond I-35, a wellness center and medical complex. PHOTO BY DAVID MCDANIEL, THE OKLAHOMAN. David McDaniel - The Oklahoman
Three poles at the entrance, once bent like paper straws, are standing straight with American and Oklahoma flags blowing in the wind.

Mercy Edmond I-35, a $90 million wellness center and medical center, will be 90 percent open on Monday, just over a year since a May 19, 2013, tornado struck the near-completed building south of 15th Street on the west side of Interstate 35.

A portion of the complex opened for business this week.

An outpatient surgical center will open in July.

The 219,000-square-foot building was just 30 days from opening when the tornado hit on a Sunday afternoon, causing $30 million in damage and delaying the opening almost a year.

A smiling Nick Niver, vice president of Mercy Edmond I-35 primary care, didn’t want to talk about the tornado while showing off the new complex on Thursday.

“We are past the tornado,” Niver said. “It has been a journey.”

Construction on the three-story building started July 5, 2011.

Not a hospital

The medical complex is not a hospital.

It is the first of its kind for Mercy, David Tew, Mercy Health System of Oklahoma chief operating officer, said repeatedly during the construction.

“There are no inpatient beds,” Niver said. “This is not a hospital. We are gearing up for the future to try to keep them healthy.”

- Mercy Edmond I-35 opens year after tornado | News OK (http://newsok.com/mercy-edmond-i-35-opens-year-after-tornado/article/4869608)

Mercy is going the outpatient route and funneling all the inpatient business to the Memorial Road Campus. Like any other successful non profit they are investing where they can make money. There may not be inpatient beds there now but, I can guarantee there will be if there is a market for it. I think the future of healthcare will be based on outpatient services. As it is today you are only admitted to the hospital only when necessary. When you reach the point where you no longer need 24 hour nursing care or specialized treatment, you are discharged. Studies have shown that patients heal faster at home then in the hospital provided they follow discharge instructions and take their prescribed medications. When I had gut surgery I had to stay in the hospital over night. Although my wife said I slept most of the time I was there I felt like I had been up the whole time. Every hour they were coming in for vitals, blood draws, and every other thing under the sun. When I went home, I slept for about ten hours. I felt 150% better after being home for awhile.

As a followup to my hospital stay (last week), I made an appointment with one of my doctors expecting to go twelve miles to Mercy at Meridian, but was pleasantly surprised when I was asked if I would like to see him on I-35. Since it's only about two miles, I jumped at it. So, if it's not already open, it will be June 25th for my appointment.
C. T.

You doing OK CT? I hope you didn't get hurt doing flips off of your trampoline into the swimming pool...

Urbanized,
Thanks for asking, but it was just a minor cardiac arrest. A little CPR, and I was just like new! Well ok, I "Coded" in ER at Mercy, and it took a "code blue" team and eight days in the hospital, but now I'm ready for the trampoline! After a month or two of rehab here at the house of course. Looks like I will survive, no heart problems, it was other circumstances that caused the old heart to stop but my cardiologist says my ticker and arteries are still in great shape for a 70 year old man.
C. T.
You doing OK CT? I hope you didn't get hurt doing flips off of your trampoline into the swimming pool...

Great news CT. Scary episode, and I'm sorry to hear about it, but glad you're OK!

Urbanized,
Thanks, it wasn't scary to me, I don't remember a thing about the code blue. I'm recovering, was steadily getting better and have lost 54 pounds in a week, but a little set back this week. Seems I'm dehydrated. I asked the nurse if beer would help and she said she swear on a stack of bibles that she didn't tell me, but yes, it would. So my water intake is up and I was drinking one to three beers, so I am going to increase the beer. How great is that? forced to stay home with my friend from London (she flew over as soon as she knew the seriousness that I was trying to hide from her). She will be here till late August.
C. T.
Great news CT. Scary episode, and I'm sorry to hear about it, but glad you're OK!

Urbanized,
Thanks, it wasn't scary to me, I don't remember a thing about the code blue. I'm recovering, was steadily getting better and have lost 54 pounds in a week, but a little set back this week. Seems I'm dehydrated. I asked the nurse if beer would help and she said she swear on a stack of bibles that she didn't tell me, but yes, it would. So my water intake is up and I was drinking one to three beers, so I am going to increase the beer. How great is that? forced to stay home with my friend from London (she flew over as soon as she knew the seriousness that I was trying to hide from her). She will be here till late August.
C. T.

I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not, but beer will actually worsen dehydration. Water is key.

Urbanized,
Thanks, it wasn't scary to me, I don't remember a thing about the code blue. I'm recovering, was steadily getting better and have lost 54 pounds in a week, but a little set back this week. Seems I'm dehydrated. I asked the nurse if beer would help and she said she swear on a stack of bibles that she didn't tell me, but yes, it would. So my water intake is up and I was drinking one to three beers, so I am going to increase the beer. How great is that? forced to stay home with my friend from London (she flew over as soon as she knew the seriousness that I was trying to hide from her). She will be here till late August.
C. T.Glad to hear you're ok.

Hemingstein,
Actually, I wasn't. Before my episode, I drank no water except for taking pills morning and night, and two cups of tea. My drink of choice has been beer for years and that's all I drank from about 3-4 till bedtime and I was never dehydrated. The nurse didn't like the choice but said there is some value. I think the alcohol is the dehydrating part but there is enough water in 3.2 beer to overcome that. I'm willing to be schooled on this, but then I would like an explanation as to why I have been fine with very little water in over 10 years.
Thanks for the comment.
C. T.

I meant to mention that I am drinking a lot more water than normal, the beer is just desert.
I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not, but beer will actually worsen dehydration. Water is key.

Did anyone catch that this transacted county assessor on 5/12 for $85,405,000?

Leonard Sullivan Oklahoma County Assessor Real Property Detail Sheet (http://www.oklahomacounty.org/assessor/Searches/AN-R.asp?ACCOUNTNO=R212511000)

Mercy Edmond I-35 offers open house event Wednesday » Local News » The Edmond Sun (http://www.edmondsun.com/local/x998012577/Mercy-Edmond-I-35-offers-open-house-event-Wednesday)

Blessing held for new $90 million Mercy Edmond I-35 | News OK (http://newsok.com/blessing-held-for-new-90-million-mercy-edmond-i-35/article/4958849)

From The Edmond Sun


Local priest blesses Edmond building
Mark Schlachtenhaufen
The Edmond Sun

EDMOND — A local priest blessed the newly-opened Mercy Edmond I-35 outpatient and wellness center, part of an open house event.

Father Ray Ackerman, pastor of Edmond’s St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, blessed the structure during a ceremony attended by hospital personnel and members of the community including city leaders.

Participants included David Tew, chief operating officer of Mercy West Communities, Di Smalley, regional president of Mercy West Communities, Mercy CEO Lynn Britton, Sister of Mercy Rose Power and Mercy Edmond I-35 Administrator Nick Niver.

Tew said Mercy appreciates the contributions of the City of Edmond leadership, members of the City Council and University of Central Oklahoma President Don Betz and his team. UCO has its own Wellness Center.

- See more at: Local priest blesses Edmond building » Local News » The Edmond Sun (http://www.edmondsun.com/local/x1760113589/Local-priest-blesses-Edmond-building#sthash.YQhUBQZE.dpuf)