Baptist Health Hardin presents at Facility Managers Meeting
Our thanks to Baptist Health Hardin for hosting the last Elizabethtown-Hardin County Industrial Foundation (EHCIF) Facility Managers Meeting of the year. During the meeting, attendees were provided with a tour of Baptist Health Hardin’s new Outpatient Medical Pavilion, which is set to open late next year.
Before the tour, a presentation was provided by Rob Ramey, President of Baptist Health Hardin, Tracee Troutt, Vice President and Chief Development/Marketing Officer for Baptist Health Hardin, Nate Cox, Director of Philanthropy for Baptist Health Foundation Hardin, and Tyler Smith, Director of Corporate Giving for the Baptist Health Foundation. Baptist Health Hardin’s cafeteria staff also provided a meal for attendees.
During his remarks, Smith discussed the work of the Baptist Health Foundation and touted the ways in which Baptist Health Foundation Hardin supports the community by investing in local healthcare. Baptist Health Foundation Hardin is an independent philanthropic organization governed by a group of community and business leaders from across Central Kentucky. The Foundation provides leadership and resources to secure investments that will improve health in local communities through Baptist Health Hardin. The foundation is committed to keeping Baptist Health Hardin strong and ensuring access to the very best care close to home for the residents of the 10-county region it serves.
“We want to match what you care about to the needs of the community, whether it’s a building, patient assistance, or cancer care,” Smith said. “Whatever it is, we just want to sit down and talk about the cool things that are happening. At the end of the day, we believe that dollars raised locally should stay local and impact local residents.”
Located adjacent to Baptist Health Hardin, the new Outpatient Medical Pavilion will include a comprehensive cancer care center, surgical suites, multiple specialty clinics, and an outdoor healing garden. The facility is 282,000 square feet, which is equivalent to 75% of the original hospital’s size.
Ramey said the new facility is designed to be a centralized area for patients to receive specialized outpatient medical services.
“We’ve got to make it easier to be a patient,” he said. “We’ve got to make it more convenient for our community to access care and relieve that burden. That’s what we’re excited about with this building and it’s a step in really making that a reality.”
The pavilion’s new comprehensive cancer care center will include an oncology and hematology clinic, infusion clinic, radiation therapy services, new equipment and technology, and amenities to make patients even more comfortable during their visits, including a boutique with items specifically for cancer patients. Clinical trials will also be provided in the center in collaboration with Baptist Health Lexington. When the project is complete, Baptist Health Hardin’s existing cancer care center will be repurposed to house other specialties. Most of the existing medical offices, diagnostic centers, and locations will remain unchanged following the medical pavilion’s completion.
“You’re going to get some of the leading-edge things that typically community hospitals aren’t able to offer,” Ramey said. “We’re excited about the cancer center and where that is going for our patients.”
The pavilion also will include 12 new operating suites, including a hybrid operating room; three cardiac catheterization labs; and comfortable areas for recovery and gathering with loved ones. Specialty clinics housed within the pavilion include cardiology, general surgery, pulmonology, urology, vascular care, and wound care.
“We need bigger, state-of-the-art operating rooms to advance that care for our community,” Ramey said. “What we want to make sure is that our community does not have to drive to Louisville or somewhere else to get care; they’re getting care you typically get at a university setting right here.”
Ramey said the new facility will allow Baptist Health Hardin to further recruit world-class physicians. He said 15 physicians have been added in the last three months and that they expect to add approximately 40 new physicians over the next two and a half years.
“We’re really looking to meet the growing needs of the community,” he said.
Designed with staff, patients, and families in mind, the facility will feature a number of amenities to support emotional and spiritual health, including a cafe, valet parking, a resource area, a chapel, an outdoor healing garden, staff respite rooms, a community walking/running track, training and conference spaces and several common areas filled with natural light and beauty. The healing garden will be situated just north of the facility and will be directly adjacent to the comprehensive cancer care center. The new facility also will feature an onsite retail pharmacy.
The project is the largest in the hospital’s nearly 70-year history and has been made possible through a $225.6 million investment from Baptist Health. The investment is the largest made to Baptist Health Hardin since the healthcare system acquired the hospital in 2020.
Monthly facility managers meetings will return in January. For more information, or if interested in attending the next facility managers meeting, please contact the Elizabethtown-Hardin County Industrial Foundation at 270-737-0300.