Siskin Hospital rehabbing patient rooms

Friday, January 1, 1904

photo Jim Allyn, director of engineering for Siskin Hospital for Physical Rehabilitation, points to a wall in a section of the facility that is being renovated.

• Name: Siskin Hospital for Physical Rehabilitation

• About: The nonprofit hospital, which relies partially on donations to fund its operations, is exclusively dedicated to physical rehabilitation and is run separately from Siskin Children's Institute.

• Location: Siskin Hospital is on Siskin Drive, just off East Third Street and behind Erlanger Medical Center.

• Status: Workers are refurbishing 29 rooms as part of a long-term plan to convert the hospital from rooms that offer patients semi-privacy, or two beds to a room, to fully private rooms, or rooms that house only a single patient. After the current third-floor renovation is complete, only a dozen rooms on the fifth floor remain to be converted, which should occur within the next year. To avoid interrupting hospital operations to the extent possible, workers will renovate one side of the floor while the other remains in use, then switch sides when work is complete.

• Price: The current project is divided into phases with the first phase of 15 rooms costing $60,000 and creating 25 jobs. The second phase of 14 rooms will cost just under $60,000.

• Completion date: The project is slated to begin Monday and will last four months.

• Features: Aside from new walls dividing patients from each other, director of engineering Jim Allyn said that the hospital will use all-new materials, including new carpet and faux-wood flooring. "We're reusing the assets in place as much as possible," he said. The existing floor, however, is 21 years old, and it's "time for a facelift," Allyn said. Previous phases of the project have seen the installation of patient lift systems, as well, and the current phase will see the installation of new, upscale tile in the bathrooms.

• Builders: Monty Humphreys of Humphreys & Associates