St. Charles Madras finishes $16 million renovation

(Update: Adding video, comments)

St. Charles Madras announced Monday that it has completed the third and final phase of its hospital remodel and expansion. As of Monday, the new main entrance off A Street opened to all patients and visitors.

The third and final phase of the renovation project included expanding the laboratory, enhancing the hospital entrance and parking areas, and connecting the new central registration and waiting area with the older part of the hospital.

“It’s so exciting to finish a project that we promised to the community,” said John Bishop, president of St. Charles Madras and St. Charles Prineville. “The additions and changes we’ve made to our hospital are truly going to enhance the quality and safety of patient care and serve Jefferson County and beyond for many years to come.”

In 2014, the St. Charles Board of Directors approved the $16 million project, which has added 26,000 square feet to the facility and enhanced outpatient and primary care services.

“There was a huge problem here with access and space, primarily in our emergency department, and some of our outpatient services,” Bishop said. “So this new addition brings the community that access and that they need.”

The 25-bed critical access hospital — which serves 21,000 people in Madras and surrounding communities — was built in 1967, and officials said the facility, formerly called Mountain View Hospital, did not meet standards of care when St. Charles acquired it through an asset transfer in 2013.

St. Charles told NewsChannel 21 during a tour Tuesday that the agreement to renovate the hospital was made before the decision by St. Charles Health System to lay off employees earlier this year, and the funds come from completely different sources.

” The transaction included a significant infusion of capital into the hospital for the much-needed facility upgrades,” Monday’s announcement said.

As part of the same project, the St. Charles Madras Emergency Department was expanded and enhanced, and a new surgical suite and Imaging department were constructed, all of which were completed last summer.

” We can all be very proud of this upgraded and renovated hospital, which offers quality health care close to home,” said Mack Gardner, a Madras resident and St. Charles Health System board member. “We can certainly thank those community visionaries back in the mid 1960’s and subsequent hospital boards who all laid the ground work for today’s 21st century Madras hospital.”

Bishop added that this is truly a investment into the community to better serve them.

“St. Charles became a part of this organization in the last five or so years and made the commitment to bring this to this community,” Bishop said. “It’s a big deal. This hospital was built originally in the 1960s, and to bring this modern space here for this community is a big deal.”

The Madras community is invited to attend a ribbon cutting ceremony Jan. 12 celebrating the completion of the two-year project. The ceremony will be held in the new central registration and waiting area of St. Charles Madras at 8 a.m.

About St. Charles Health System

St. Charles Health System, Inc., headquartered in Bend, owns and operates St. Charles Bend, Madras, Prineville and Redmond. It also owns family care clinics in Bend, Madras, Prineville, Redmond and Sisters. St. Charles is a private, not-for-profit Oregon corporation and is the largest employer in Central Oregon with more than 4,200 caregivers. In addition, there are more than 350 active medical staff members and nearly 200 visiting medical staff members who partner with the health system to provide a wide range of care and service to our communities.