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McCullough-Hyde Memorial Hospital to renovate ER

By Emily O'Connor, Senior Staff Writer

The McCullough-Hyde Memorial Hospital (MHMH) received a $1 million donation for extensive renovations that will begin this week.

The donation from Gerald and Marie Katz was the largest single donation received in the hospital's history.

Bryan Hehemann, president and chief executive officer of MHMH, said he hopes their generosity will inspire additional giving.

Marie Katz, formally Marie Bruns, grew up in Brookville, Ohio. Her grandmother was a cousin to the Hyde family, who donated a large portion of the money that helped build the hospital in the 1950s.

Per a request from Katz, the new emergency department will be renamed after her parents, Howard and Mary Jane Bruns.

Thanks to their donation, the campaign is more than halfway to its $2 million fundraising goal.

The hospital, which affiliated with Cincinnati-area health system TriHealth earlier this year, recently launched a fundraising campaign to help cover some cost of the expansion and renovations. The total price tag on the project is over $12 million.

TriHealth also contributed approximately $2.5 million to the project. The remaining costs are being funded by loans and hospital operations.

Doug Elliot, the Oxford city manager, said the improvements are long overdue and have been discussed since the partnership with TriHealth.

"These renovations will update the hospital and provide a better patient experience," said Elliot. "We are very pleased and they will be a good edition to the community."

Hospital officials hope the project will take 22 months. The first phase of renovations will be an emergency room expansion and, after that, operating room renovations.

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"We hope the first phase will be completed by the late summer of next year," said Hehemann. "The second phase are hoped to be completed by the spring of 2017."

The emergency room is undergoing an expansion of 3,000 square feet, said Hehemann. The current emergency room is approximately 7,000 square feet. The hospital is expanding the ER department by cutting into existing space such as the lobby, waiting rooms and surrounding hallways.

The operating rooms will be renovated but will not be expanded.

"What is exciting is that the operating room project will increase the number of rooms," said Hehemann. "There will be a lot better work areas around the OR [operating room] areas. This means better work flow as well as better patient flow."

Hehemann hopes the renovations will provide a more efficient and pleasant experience for those coming into the ER and OR. The renovations feature a new design that is more modern and thought out, said Hehemann.

Sophomore Jill Stinson said she thinks the renovations to the ER will benefit the Oxford community and Miami students. Stinson said her experience with the ER was positive, but the facility was very crowded.

"I think the expansion will be really helpful," said Stinson.