Reid Health celebrates 5 years of improvements in Connersville

July 12, 2024 -- As Monday became Tuesday on a mid-July night in 2019, a new era began for Connersville's century-old hospital.

Outside the facility, there was a flurry of activity as new signage went up to formalize the transition from Fayette Regional Health System to Reid Health - Connersville.

Inside, care continued unabated, the result of careful planning to ensure the community wouldn't go so much as a second without services available.

The smooth handoff of operations from Fayette Regional to Reid Health was the first tangible sign of Reid's intention to make good on a promise made to the community in the weeks leading up to the change.

"We made a commitment, a pledge to ensure access to a variety of high-quality healthcare services for years to come in Fayette County," said Craig Kinyon, Reid Health President/CEO. "Five years later, we're proud to say we've held true to that pledge, and we're excited for what's still to come."

In May 2019, Reid announced its intent to acquire the majority of the assets of Fayette Regional Health System after Fayette Regional had been forced to enter bankruptcy. Final details were worked out over the following weeks, culminating in the switch that took place at precisely 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday, July 16, 2019.

Stepping in to ensure Connersville and Fayette County continued to have local access to care was important to Kinyon. He had served as Chief Financial Officer for Fayette Memorial Hospital (later known as Fayette Regional) for five years before joining Reid Health in 1995.

"I knew from personal experience the significant health needs of the community and the importance of that hospital in meeting those needs," Kinyon said. "This was an organization made up of friends, families, and neighbors who were taking care of friends, families, and neighbors, and it was critical that continue."

Reid was able to maintain services without interruption and save hundreds of jobs by retaining its staff during the transition. Since then, the Reid Health system has maintained its commitment to remain a primary employer of Fayette County residents through its investment in a new campus, which will impact economic growth within the city and county.

For lifelong Fayette County resident Billie Kester, seeing the signs changed on the day of the transition was a surreal experience.

"Having started my nursing career at Fayette Regional, it was like merging two parts of my life," said Kester, Reid Health's Vice President for Ambulatory Care and Service Lines. "The gratefulness of the community for maintaining health services has been overwhelming."

"It was wonderful to see the faces of people who felt they were going to be taken care of and not forgotten," said Connersville native Dennis Perkins, who used to be part of the team at Fayette Regional and now serves as Assistant Chief for the Reid Health Police Department.

"You could see their relief in knowing we'd still have a hospital in our community, somewhere to go to be taken care of."

The first year under Reid leadership alone brought several improvements to healthcare in Connersville, including:

• Hiring new providers for the Emergency Department
• Completely reequipping the ED with new stretchers, cardiac monitors, defibrillators, ultrasound machines, and other equipment
• The addition of RN case managers to assist with patient needs
• A major upgrade from paper charting to the Epic medical record system
• Restoring outpatient lab and radiology services
• Restoring cardiopulmonary rehabilitation services
  
• Continuing outpatient physical therapy and restoring occupational therapy
• Purchasing a new vehicle for the Reid Health Police Department in Connersville and providing officers more equipment, training, and support
• Updates to parking lots and landscaping at the newly acquired locations
• Removal of blighted buildings around the Connersville campus, also creating more green space
• Adding a new ambulance to support transfers from the ED to other facilities
• Adding specialty services outreach such as oncology and podiatry

Also in the first year, the Fayette Regional Health System Foundation transferred its remaining assets to the Reid Health Foundation, with the promise that those funds would continue to be used for their stated purpose in the service area.

That continued support has been combined with investment by Reid Health Community Benefit in the form of grants and other funding for programs in and around Connersville.

"Reid's promise to Fayette County extends beyond the walls of the hospital," said Jason Troutwine, Reid Health Vice President and Reid Foundation President. "The promise includes partnering with local organizations to improve the overall health, quality of life, and future of Fayette County.

"These partnerships continue to grow and make a difference in the community."

The expansion of services offered in Connersville has continued over the years, with the opening of Wound Healing Center and Infusion Center locations, pediatric occupational and speech therapy, and mammography screenings.

Reid also has raised the standard of care, earning accreditation for its Urgent Care location in Connersville as well as for the Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehabilitations programs in the city.

But the most significant announcement came in September 2022 with the news that Reid Health would be replacing the current campus at 1941 Virginia Ave. with a new $100 million state-of-the-art facility to be built on the former Kmart site at 2500 Park Road.

"Reid is committed to meeting the needs of those we serve, and our new building will provide greater access and the latest technologies to the community," said Tom Hilkert, Reid Health Governing Board Chair. "We're making an investment that'll have a powerful and positive impact on this region."

Final approval of project plans came late last year with site work beginning in March of this year. Once finished in spring 2026, the 106,715-square-foot facility is expected to include an Emergency Department with an adjacent helipad, radiology services, laboratory services, and a mix of primary and several specialty care options.

"Having a helipad located on the campus is very important," Kester said. "That'll eliminate the time that's now needed to transport a patient who needs a higher level of care to a site where the helicopter can land."

A few of the specialty services planned to be available at the new campus include cardiology, oncology, OB/GYN, orthopedics, podiatry, audiology, wound healing, and ear, nose, and throat.

"Connersville and Fayette County hold such promise as communities, and these past five years are a great example of what can be accomplished when we work together," Kinyon said. "We at Reid Health are looking forward to being part of their continued success now and in the future."