South Central Regional Medical Center (SCRMC) recently celebrated the reopening and renovation of its Third Floor West Wing.

Having been closed for over a year, this project has been highly anticipated by employees and patients alike. When prioritizing improvement projects, SCRMC strives to keep the patient’s well-being and care in the forefront. The main goals of this reopening are to decrease emergency department wait times by moving patients to available beds faster, and to increase the hospital’s capacity to keep patients local near home and family.

“We have been looking forward to this opening for quite some time,” said Gregg Gibbes, CEO and President of SCRMC. “As the healthcare needs of our community continue to evolve, so does South Central. Access to care is a major problem in Mississippi. Many times, the focus is generally on maintaining access to care in small, underserved areas that struggle to survive. And we understand because we operate numerous small rural hospitals.”

Third West is a 38-bed, telemetry capable unit equipped with communication boards, new oxygen regulators, updated suction regulators and more. Each room also features photos from Laurel local photographer Chad Edwards. However, patient rooms are not the only area that’s seen upgrades. The entire floor is new and improved, from flooring to drywall, including and a new nurse station and provider work area.

SCRMC celebrated the reopening with an open house event for all physicians, providers and staff to tour the new space. Third West open house included remarks from SCRMC President and CEO Gregg Gibbes, members of South Central’s Board of Trustees, and a blessing from South Central Chaplain, Nathan Brown.

In 2020, Third West became a COVID-19 unit. With that came a lot of physical wear and tear, but also a heavy emotional toll. “COVID-19 took a lot of things away from the hospital­—from healthcare. Reopening this unit is really just us taking it back,” said Brittnie Jordan, West Wing Director.

Since reopening, the third-floor unit has consistently maintained near-capacity occupancy. The renovations not only provide SCRMC the ability to increase volume of patients cared for, but also increase the type of care provided to the patients.

The unit admits both med surg and telemetry patients. Med surg is medical-surgical nursing, which focuses on providing care for adults who are either preparing for, or recovering from, a surgical procedure. Telemetry is the ability to measure physical data such as oxygen levels or respiratory rate.

“It is common for Mississippi’s rural hospitals to transfer patients who need a higher level of care to Birmingham, Pensacola, New Orleans or even Tennessee; because mid-size and large hospitals in Mississippi often times do not have capacity,” stated Gibbes. “With this renovation and reopening at South Central, and the additional improvement projects being planned, we will create more capacity and help keep more patients in Mississippi.”