Patients begin rolling over to new Sherman Hospital
It was a day of firsts at the new Sherman Hospital in Elgin.
Hospital staffers clapped, cried and cheered as the first patient, Bonnie Houck of Kingston, rolled through the hallway on a gurney about 7:35 a.m. Tuesday to officially begin a new era at Randall and Big Timber roads.
The hospital treated its first emergency room patient at 7:01 a.m. and delivered its first baby. a girl, via Caesarean section about 9:40 a.m.
About 95 patients were moved Tuesday from the old east Elgin facility at 945 Center St. to the new $325 million, 645,000-square-foot facility with 255 beds.
"It's been a poignant day for us. Some sadness, leaving a campus where we've been for over a century," said Sherman CEO and President Rick Floyd. "The overriding emotion that I feel as I walk around Sherman is excitement to be part of the first day of our new history in our new home."
To prepare for the move, the staff had plenty of training, including a day-in-the-life exercise to simulate a full day at the new facility where construction began in summer 2006.
"Everyone has worked so hard," said Jeanne Venella, director of Sherman's emergency room. "We're quite satisfied to see this day come."
The sun rays streaming in through the south-facing cafeteria windows worked in concert with the green T-shirts worn by many of the 1,900 staff members and volunteers that feature a rising sun logo proclaiming "A New Day in Healthcare."
"We were all looking forward to this like little kids at Christmastime," said Rick Jakle, chairman of the board of Sherman Health Systems.
Resting in her private room overlooking the hospital's 15-acre geothermal lake, Houck said the move from the old to new facility was very smooth.
She didn't expect to be moved over to the new facility when she went to Sherman for hip replacement surgery and certainly didn't expect to be the first through the door.
"It's beautiful," Houck said. "I love the window because of the sunlight coming in. Otherwise it can get depressing in a hospital. It was kind of like when you start kindergarten. You're all excited (saying), 'Is it going to be as good as I think it is?' It's gorgeous."
Isabel Martinez of Carpentersville started having contractions late Monday night, so she went to the old Sherman. By Tuesday morning, she was moved by ambulance before giving birth to a 9-pound, 6-ounce girl named Jocelyn Paredes.
She and father Sergio Paredes didn't expect to wind up at or make history at the new Sherman.
"It's pretty neat, exciting," Isabel Martinez said, adding she would probably buy a newspaper or two as a keepsake for her daughter.
Tuesday also marked a new beginning for the old Sherman on Center Street on Elgin's east side.
It will be transformed into a 24-hour immediate care facility where patients can be treated for non-life-threatening ailments.
Brody Ryan Baresel was born at 1:38 a.m. Tuesday. He was the last baby born at the Center Street site.
His parents, Kimberly and Greg Baresel of Marengo, said they would have a lot to tell their 8-pound, 12-ounce bundle of joy. The new dad snapped pictures as mom and baby were loaded into an ambulance and transported west.
"We really wanted to be here at the new hospital," said Greg Baresel, whose family has had four generations of his family born at the old Sherman. "It worked out perfectly."
Added Kimberly Baresel: "We're just trying to soak everything in. It's very overwhelming."
<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=344365">Sherman move shifts ambulance routes <span class="date">[12/15/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=344332">Old Sherman hospital has new use <span class="date">[12/15/09]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>