Mercy Health is renovating and expanding the medical office building on the Urbana Hospital campus.

Budgeted for $130,000, the project is to improve patient access to the practices of the general and orthopedic surgeons on campus, Daniel Persinger, MD, and Gregory Carozza, DO, by enhancing their offices and the common areas for patients.

The project also includes the expansion of specialized telecare, telestroke and telecardiology services in hospital.

“This technology enables specialists with Mercy Health Physicians to use virtual monitors at Urbana Hospital to remotely connect with patients and provide consultations. The patients can stay at Urbana Hospital instead of traveling to Springfield Regional Medical Center for specialist care,” said Jamie Houseman, president, Urbana Hospital.

Additionally, the hospital has added a second state-of-the-art ultrasound machine allowing it to expand hours for outpatient services and schedule more tests to accommodate patients.

This latest project is part of an overall $1.3M investment in the campus that has included:

-Adding on site mammography services

-Renovating the inpatient space, emergency department, operating rooms and central sterile services department

-Building the hospital’s new, covered front entrance

-Internal renovations on the first floor, including a new registration area separate from the emergency department, gift shop and a more accessible coumadin clinic

-Renovated cardiac rehab space and helipad

It follows 2017’s $3 million renovation and service expansion project that included:

-Building a 10-bed senior behavioral health unit

-Recruitment of an orthopedic surgeon and two general surgeons, which has led to a significant increase in surgery volumes

-Doubling of the MRI service capability from two to four days weekly

-Internal renovations to modernize the facility