St. Charles Bend tackles patient parking squeeze

If you’ve pulled into St. Charles Bend recently, you may have been greeted with a pleasant surprise: open parking spaces.

“I noticed that there seemed to be more parking,” frequent hospital visitor Steve Puccetti said Wednesday. “But I was here awfully early this morning, too.”

It has been a goal of the hospital for more than a year, according to St. Charles Vice President of Support and Services Jim Kirkbride.

“It is our No. 1 patient complaint,” Kirkbride said Wednesday.

Three weeks ago, the hospital unveiled a new parking plan, put together by a team dedicated to the issue. Signs around the lots now point to designated parking areas. There’s also more spaces for patients and visitors,but fewer for hospital employees.

“We still have some work to do from the caregivers’ perspective,” Kirkbride said. “We are still about 50 parking spaces short.”

Many employees now park in overflow areas or off-site.

And no matter where you park, if the walk is still too too far, St. Charles volunteer Gary Wirth will pick you up in a new golf cart shuttle service that takes patients and employees right to the front door.

“I think this is going to work well for them,” Wirth said. “Especially when it’s getting colder and there’s snow.”

Visitors said they appreciate the gesture.

“It’s a wonderful idea, especially with someone who moves pretty slow and it’s raining outside,” said a woman visiting her father in the hospital.

But Puccetti is still skeptical.

“It’s a step in the right direction, but there’s definitely a problem in need (of) a parking structure,” Puccetti said.

Kirkbride said a parking garage is unlikely and too expensive. Instead, the hospital will put a long-term focus on helping improve bus transportation, and developing off-site lots for employees.

“We have to be more creative, but we’re on track for solving the problem from the patients’ perspective,” Kirkbride said.

St. Charles Bend also has also started giving parking tickets to those who park illegally on the campus. Employees who get four tickets in a calendar year could get fired.