Hospital expansion proposed

Saint Luke’s has outlined options for clinic space. The most likely scenario is to reconfigure the labor and delivery department as a specialty clinic. Then, the county's hospital facilities board needs to decide whether to build an addition for a medical clinic.

April 23, 2021 - 2:29 PM

Elmore Patterson, administrator for Allen County Regional Hospital, from left, introduces Jeremy Bechtold with Saint Luke’s, and Larry Peterson, ACRH chief financial officer. Photo by Vickie Moss / Iola Register

Big changes could be coming to Allen County Regional Hospital as Saint Luke’s Health System considers how to add space for various health clinics.

Saint Luke’s proposed taking an incremental approach with multiple options that can be implemented over the next five years or so. It would reduce the number of patient rooms but increase space for outpatient specialty clinics, and add space for physician offices and exam rooms.

This aerial photo of the Allen County Regional Hospital shows two areas in red (at left and right) that could become possible additions for clinic space, replacing the current clinic at 401 S. Washington St.Courtesy photo

“Our responsibility is to bring specialty care with the right model. We’ve got to have good volumes (of patients and services) and be a good steward of funds,” Elmore Patterson, ACRH administrator on behalf of Saint Luke’s, said.

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