Parkview ponders future uses for Oak Street facility
(Talk of the Town photo by Jennifer Zartman Romano) John Meister, chief operations officer for Parkview Whitley Hospital, below, gave his fellow Columbia City Rotary Club members an overview of plans for the new Parkview Whitley Hospital. Meister also answered several questions that have been on many people's minds regarding the new campus.
By Jennifer Zartman Romano
There are three things John Meister is regularly asked about regarding the construction of the new Parkview Whitley Hospital.
People want to know when Parkview will break ground for the facility. They want to know when the hospital will open. And they want to know what will happen with the old hospital on Oak Street in Columbia City. 
Answers for the first two questions, while impacted by several factors, are easier to find. But, according to Meister, the answer to the latter question is an important concern on many minds – including those at Parkview Health who feel it is a building with a lot of life left in it.
“I don’t have an answer, today, to that question,” Meister said.
Meister then elaborated on several possibilities currently under discussion for the site – including the possibility that the site may one day be used as a high tech high school.
Describing the need to prepare students for jobs of the future, “The nirvana will be to address that need in a very high tech way.”
The Lehmberg Building, adjacent to the hospital, Meister said, could be used as the site for the business incubator program currently being created. The incubator program would help small start-up businesses get established and grow, further developing commerce and industry in Whitley County.
“Huntington University and Ivy Tech are also interested in space,” Meister said.
As for the first two questions, Parkview will ceremoniously broke ground in October 2008 and construction is expected to being in the fall of 2009. The opening date for the facility is estimated to be sometime in November or December 2011.
The 96,000 square foot facility with 30 beds will including 21 medical/surgical beds and five labor and delivery in a concise, well-planned two and a half story structure overlooking natural wetland areas and using principles of green building in a wellness-centric environment.
Meister noted that we are now living in what he describes as “a revolutionary time in hospital design,” when facilities are being built that meld concepts like noise reduction, improvements in infection control, spirituality, programmatic orientation and awareness about how colors and sound can improve patient outcomes.
“This is truly a once in a lifetime opportunity,” Meister said. “It allows us to reflect on how we deliver effective care.”
For more information about the hospital, including the groundbreaking ceremony that was held in October 2008, click here.