Operation Transplant: Randallia's new chapter

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - Parkview’s big move from its current location on Randallia Drive to the new medical facility off Dupont Road will be complete March 17. But, once moving day comes, what will happen to the old campus? Many worried it would just shut down.

“There was great concern about our relocation to the north campus,” Sue Ehinger, COO of Parkview Hospital, said. “I understand their concern.”

But, Ehinger said not only is Parkview staying on Randallia, it’s making the campus even better.

Parkview Health announced the plans to build the Parkview Regional Medical Center (PRMC) in 2003, but didn’t initially say what would become of the Randallia location.

“That’s what scared me and a lot of people who lived around here,” Fort Wayne City Councilman Tom Smith, R-District 1, said. “I didn’t want Parkview to just become a park. I knew if they moved out, the whole area would suffer. Home values would go down and some of the shops and stores could go out of business.”

Smith put together the Parkview Select Committee, a group of people who Smith knew who lived in the area. Smith gave them the task of meeting with Parkview representatives to work out a solution to save the campus.

“That was the end of ‘government’ involvement. This was the citizens,” Smith said. “This is probably the biggest success story I’ve ever seen that didn’t involve government or some outside influence. It was just people and a large corporation.”

The committee worked with Parkview executives and staff starting in 2005.

“They’re staying and going to have quite a bit there,” Smith said.

These are the services that are staying at Parkview Hospital Randallia:

·        150 bed, all private rooms (a mix of inpatient acute care, post-acute care and rehabilitation services
·        Full-service, 24/7 emergency department with 30 exam rooms
·        Family birthing services
·        Surgery suites
·        Select outpatient services
·        Physician offices
·        Sleep center
·        Lab services
·        Radiology services
·        Parkview Behavioral Health hospital will stay at its Beacon Street location

Several new programs are also moving in.

“We really, from Parkview’s side, took this as a great opportunity for how do you transition this campus into something different,” Ehinger said. “It’s more than a hospital. It’s providing education, providing health and wellness opportunities, and that’s very different for the area we’re serving.”

The buildings where Fort Wayne Cardiology and the Carew Medical Park are now will become the home to the Life Science Education and Research Consortium of Northeast Indiana.

“Several universities are coming together to meet the needs of health care providers, such as physical therapy, mental health, counseling and numerous different programs coming onto our campus to give it an educational feel,” Ehinger said.

Right now, the partnerships are with Fort Wayne Community Schools, Huntington University, Ivy Tech Community College-Northeast, Trine University and University of Saint Francis. Some programs could be available as early as this fall.

“That brings in younger people, students, and that’s a generator for new business. Be it restaurants, shops, clothing stores, it brings new life to the area,” Smith said.

The neighborhood has an aging population and a large nursing home sits next to the hospital. That’s one reason one of the main focuses of Parkview Randallia will be senior care.

“We have gaps in our community for our seniors. Access to care, but really it’s about prevention. How do you keep people within their homes? Do we have sufficient resources for them? How do you look at healthcare from a senior’s aspect? It’s an ideal opportunity to partner with our neighbors and close those gaps,” Ehinger said.

Parkview is also looking at ways to partner with the nearby VA Hospital.

“It could be numerous ways that we could provide a level of service. It could be a medical office space and we could also provide resources for mental health care or inpatient acute care. Could we provide veterans an opportunity to use our rehab center rather than go out of town? Can we dream together and see what resources our veterans need,’ Ehinger said.

No finalized partnership with the VA has been announced.

Ehinger added the Randallia campus will also focus on rehabilitation and mental health services. Parkview is exploring ways to close a gap between needing critical care in the hospital and going home.

“There is a group of patients that are on ventilators for a period of time or have wound care needs that need a special level of service and we know that we were missing that piece to our post-acute strategy. We’ve started looking at a partnership to provide that care,” Ehinger said.

That partnership opportunity is with Vibra Hospital of Fort Wayne. The two institutions signed a letter of intent to explore Vibra moving its long-term acute care hospital to the Randallia campus. That move could happen later this year and would