Our Maine Street's Aroostook Issue 30 : Fall 2016 | Page 25

Cary Medical Center Completes
$1.5 Million Dollar Room
Renovation Project
Caribou’s Largest Employer Uses Local
Contractors to Complete Work
by Tamra Kilcollins
In 1978 Cary Medical Center opened its doors at
the hospital’s current Route 1 location with a new,
state-of-the-art medical facility for Caribou and
surrounding area residents. At the time, looking
to keep the culture and tradition of providing
personal, patient and family centered care, local
hospital officials, architects and planners had the
foresight and vision to create only single-private
inpatient rooms for the brand new hospital.

new computer stations, new LED patient room
lighting, new high-performance windows and
window treatments, new laminate-wood flooring,
fresh paint, new comfortable furnishings for both
patients and visitors, and lots of artwork by local
Aroostook County photographer Paul Cyr.

Hospital staff and administrators were involved
from the start of the project, selecting fabrics,
furniture and artwork. The final design creates
Fast forward to 2016, and again working with all a private and warm space that’s welcoming and
local contractors and construction crews, a $1.5 comfortable for patients, visitors and staff.
million renovation project upgrading all of Cary’s
Acute Care Unit, (ACU) rooms and nurses station, “In order to minimize the disruption for the
was completed in August.
patients and staff, the project was done in stages
by completing 4 to 5 rooms at a time,” Anderson
“We’ve spent considerable time and effort explained. Rooms on the hospital’s transition floor
redesigning our entire Acute Care Unit to make were brought back into use so that ACU room
it even more comfortable and patient-pleasing,” capacity of 21 beds was not affected throughout
explained Shawn Anderson, Cary Chief Operating the project.
Officer and Project Administrator. “Further, we’ve
sought the collective input of our team of talented “This project was made possible through the efforts
and dedicated clinicians to ensure that they are best of a large group of local dedicated contractors
able to deliver the quality healthcare that Cary is including J.P. Martin and Sons, S.W. Collins
known for in a manner that is staff-friendly and Company, County Electric, Patrick St. Peter
ergonomically safe. What we spent over a year and Sons Plumbing, and Sullivan’s Flooring,”
planning, has now become reality.”
the Chief Operating Officer explained. “These
fine local contractors poured themselves into
The new rooms, including the addition of four this project, and the results speak for themselves.
adjoining palliative care rooms, also includes a Our dedicated staff worked through less-thannew digital nurse-call system, new flat-screen TV’s, comfortable conditions to make sure our patients
FALL 2016

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