After years of fundraising, consumer input, research and construction, Howard County General Hospital, the county’s only hospital, this week opened part of its new, state-of-the-art medical pavilion.

The Bolduc Family Outpatient Center, located on the first level of the pavilion and named after the Clarksville family that donated $1 million to its construction, began accepting patients Monday. 

Other parts of the four-story, $105-million expansion, including inpatient rooms that will increase the hospital’s capacity from a 185 beds to 228, are due to be completed next year.

Hospital officials are hoping the new pavilion will accommodate what they say is a burgeoning need for health care in Howard County.

“Howard County is just continuously growing and the baby boomers are beginning to age, so our services are becoming increasingly in high demand,” hospital spokeswoman Sharon Sopp said.

“I believe Howard County is one of the fastest aging counties in Maryland,” said Jay Blackman, the hospital’s executive vice president and chief operating officer.

The outpatient center handles occupational, physical and speech therapy, and includes a cardiac pulmonary rehab room with rows of treadmills, weights, exercise machines and flat-screen televisions.

“I think the staff and patients are in shock,” Sopp said. “This room is now three times the size of what it originally was and it has so much more to it.”

In addition to the rehab room, there are separate pediatric and adult gymnasiums, and waiting rooms. The pediatric gymnasium is a bright room full of vivid blues, yellows and reds, and has a rock climbing wall, jungle gym slide and gymnastics mats — all used for specific occupational and physical rehab.

The top three floors of the pavilion are all inpatient rooms, expected to open on Aug. 3. Each room will be designed for a single patient, to reduce infections and provide direct access to the bathroom to minimize falls. Bathrooms are equipped with handrails and showers without stalls, to prevent tripping.

Between every two rooms, there is a work alcove for the nurses to complete records while monitoring their patients. Also located in the alcove are two keypad-locked drawers, to store each individual patient’s medication, and outside of each room is a nameplate where nurses will list the patient’s name and any special notices about the patient.

“Special attention was placed on reducing infections, patient falls and medication errors to ensure patient safety,” Sopp said.

According to Sopp the patient pavilion was built to be environmentally friendly, with numerous windows designed to provide a comforting atmosphere and also reduce energy costs.

Although construction is nearly complete, the hospital is still raising money to pay for the pavilion. According to Christopher McCabe, vice president of development for the Howard Hospital Foundation, of the $105 million needed to complete the pavilion, the hospital borrowed $40 million, used $35 million from savings, and planned to raise the remaining $30 million through a private fundraising campaign.

He said he foundation is $8.6 million short of its $30 million goal, and is broadening its campaign to encourage small donations as well as larger ones.

“Howard County General is the community’s only hospital,” he said. “We hope people will donate and want to be a part of the hospital.”

Blackman said Monday the response from the staff and patients to the new facility has been positive.

“The real challenge is to always stay up to date with the evolving technology,” he said. “Not too far down the road we’ll look into doing more renovations.”

On Friday, July 10, the hospital will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony and donor and VIP reception, to celebrate the opening of the patient pavilion.

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