Stillwater Billings Clinic unveils newly expanded patient care areas
On Wednesday, July 14, Stillwater Billings Clinic unveiled the newly expanded areas in its rehabilitation department and inpatient wing, which will enhance care to the community and support patients and health care facilities throughout the area. This project was made possible through funding from the CARES Act program, piloted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Representatives from Stillwater Billings Clinic, the Stillwater Billings Clinic Board of Directors, Billings Clinic, affiliate team members from the region and community members gathered in Columbus to celebrate the expansion with two ribbon cutting ceremonies.
“We are thankful for the support of our patients, regional partners, and for having the means to add the square footage and patient rooms to our campus,” said Dr. David Kane, Stillwater Billings Clinic physician. “The increased bed capacity will allow for us to be of more assistance to our regional partners, especially in rural areas; and to receive and care for more patients who are on the mend, but still in need of transitional care. Our community is growing, and we have been able to grow with those needs as a facility.”
The new construction adds more than 3,700 square feet to the facility. It includes 6 additional beds and 2 isolation rooms in acute care, bringing total bed capacity to 16. This addition provides more flexible bed space to receive patients locally or from across the region and allows for additional post-acute and swing bed care. New space in the rehabilitation services department makes more room for more patients as they recover in Columbus, keeping them close to home during an important time in their care journey. It also allows for additional staff support and infection control enhancements in order to maintain safe physical distancing.
Stillwater Billings Clinic utilized nearly $2.9 million provided by the CARES Act to aid with caring for COVID-19 patients, enhancing testing capacity, increasing infection control measures, and helping to accommodate and assist other hospitals in the region.
“Our trends in swing bed patients have risen over the past year. Some of those patients are local, but we also have patients that transfer from larger facilities to receive transitional care. It is exciting to know that we have a nursing and physician model that can support a higher patient volume while giving that one-on-one care to patients. Co-workers are like family at SBC, and I think that patients feel that love and support when they come to us. When a patient is discharged and asks if they can stay longer, we know we have done our job,” said Jane Pomeroy, Director of Nursing Services.
