CEO Update: Planning for the move into the hospital expansion

CEO Update Hospital Expansion
• 09 April 2026

Michael Calhoun shares the latest happenings at CMH in his monthly CEO Updates. He is the CEO/executive director of CMH and the Citizens Memorial Health Care Foundation.

We recently had a very successful open house event for the Citizens Memorial Hospital patient tower. I want to share how much we appreciate the community coming out and supporting us. We had over 2,000 people join us for tours.

On March 23, we opened the front lobby, including the DJBean coffee shop, the Gift Garden gift shop and the CMH cafeteria.

And now this month, we’re going to be moving all of our clinical care spaces progressively through the month. Sara Hennessy is our director of nursing for the hospital, and she’s been involved with our moving team that makes the plans for preparations for our move.

Continue reading the blog post or watch the video to learn more from my conversation with her about:

• The planning process
• Starting with the ED
• Staff training

The planning process

Hennessy: This planning work has really been happening for years now. It’s intensified in intention and design over the past year. When we’re doing planning, thinking and having a really deep level of attention to detail, we want to make sure that all of our key stakeholders are at the table and a part of that conversation. We want to understand who will be impacted by the physical space, the process or the service that the area is going to deliver.

Then we get those people to the table so we can predict the things that can go wrong and use that to intentionally design how we work in that area, how we supply that area and how we keep our staff and our patients safe in doing so.

Starting with the ED

Calhoun: The next move that we have in front of us is the emergency department. We’re open 24/7, and people are immediately coming to that space for care. One day they’re going to be coming to one space, and then the next moment they’re going to be going to the new space. Talk about how we are planning to make sure we have a safe transition on the day of the move.

Hennessy: You could compare it to our favorite athletes. When we see them on the field or on the court, they have had so many repetitions off the court to make them game-ready. In that same way, we want our clinicians to be ready to go for that. The way we’ve designed our move has been intentional, not only on the day of the week, but also on the time of day, so we pick a time period that’s a lower volume. It’s less likely to have a safety impact.

We’ve been very intentional and essentially created a checklist for each role ahead of that day. They know exactly what their role is and what they need to do to keep their patients and one another safe. We’ll have clear, concise communication throughout that process.

Each of these moves will be used as a continuous feedback loop to drive continuous improvement so that each one becomes more efficient and well-designed.

Support teams

Calhoun: Another element of the move that sometimes gets overlooked is the support teams that it takes to move — not just the people that provide care at the bedside, but also the people who are helping make sure it is set up appropriately.

Our plant and maintenance team makes sure that the equipment and the facility space are appropriate. Our environmental services team, our nutritional services team and others, there’s a whole group of people who are the same people in every department who are helping each department move. That explains a little bit about why we can’t move everything at once.

Hennessy: I really want to recognize our environmental services team, our materials management team, who are using intention and thought behind how our departments will be stocked ahead of this. Our facilities maintenance team is making sure everything is ready to go, as well as Information Services.

Staff training

Hennessy: Our technology will be in place, and we’ll have some dry runs ahead of the move and dates to make sure it’s ready to go. If you were to walk through the halls during staff training, you would see a lot of teamwork and collaboration and feel a lot of excitement and energy. A lot of intention has gone into welcoming our staff ahead of patients so that they are comfortable and confident and ready for “go time” when we have our move-in days.

Calhoun: They are getting used to the new tools that are available to them.

Hennessy: They’re getting used to the physical space, the technology, all of the different buttons, what those sound like and look like on the unit. When it comes to move day, they’ll be so well-versed, comfortable and confident that they can pick up on anything that doesn’t sound or look right. They can take action to provide great care.

Calhoun: I want to commend them for their flexibility. They’re willing to learn new things. They’re committed to our mission and our vision to provide the safest care.

And not only our staff, but also our community, as they figure out where to go as they’re accessing services. It looks different, but they’ve been very excited about what’s coming and patient with us. I really want to thank our community for your patience with us.

I appreciate the work that you’re doing, the work all of our leadership team on the moves planning team is doing to make sure that not only do we get moved efficiently, but also keeping at the forefront patient safety and the quality of care that we provide.

Hennessy: We’re so proud of our people and the dedication and commitment that they’re demonstrating right now. And we’re so excited to welcome our community to this new space.