CEO Update: A Conversation with Staff About the Patient Tower

CEO Update Hospital Expansion
• 26 May 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’re all moved into the new hospital tower now, and the staff are excited about being in their new home. We know it’s just not a building. It makes such a difference in the lives of our employees and patients. And today we’re going to hear about that.

Continue reading the blog post or watch the video to learn more from my conversations with frontline staff about their experiences in the new patient tower.

The Gift Garden

Calhoun: Tell me about some of the things that you’re most proud of here.

Nita Cornell, Auxiliary member: The space is beautiful. We love that it’s open.

Karen McElwee, Auxiliary member: With the windows out there, we get all that light.

Cornell: We don’t feel like we’re as closed in as we were.

The DJBean Coffee Bar

Calhoun: Has it been pretty busy here at the DJBean?

Kaylee Schenk, Nutritional Services: Yes, especially compared to the other coffee shop. We’re in a much better location because we’ve got all these beautiful windows. It’s so open in here.

The Cafeteria

Calhoun: You all were the first ones to occupy this new space. Was it worth the wait?

Christy McDaniel, Nutritional Services: It was that. And beyond some. I really mean that. It definitely was.

Paula Ramsey, Nutritional Services: I love the space. I have my own fryer. I love the people. I love the glass. I can actually see the people. And I can actually flip food in front of them and have fun with them and talk to them and make their day brighter.

Information Desk

Judy Johnson, Auxiliary member: On the first morning that patients were coming in, they would walk in the door, and we could watch them, and they’d go, “Wow!” and just look around because it was so pretty. The sunlight and everything just brightens your spirits.

Emergency Department

Calhoun: What are some of the things you’re most excited about working in the new ER that you’re most pleased with?

Ambria Barnes, ED Patient Access: These windows right here in front of us. I love the windows that I can see out and everything. I like all the new space in the back.

Annie Gant, ED Concierge: When I take patients to the back or visitors to the patients, they also like the area, but nurses aren’t on top of each other. And the rooms might all be full, but there’s still space and it’s still peaceful. It’s not hectic.

Michelle Neal, RN, Emergency Department: I love the expanded space and the nurse’s station. We’re not sitting on top of each other. I love the technology. I love the tap-in, tap-out. The new equipment. I think it’s going to work out great. The fast track is good. The space is great.

Medical Surgical Unit

Calhoun: What’s the biggest difference private rooms make for patients?

Joe Dobbins, RN, Acute Care Management: The privacy. Just that alone. It’s really hard to have a conversation between a physician and a patient or nursing and a patient without the other person in the room hearing everything. Or they might be a little bit loud. It’s very distracting and kind of keeps you awake at night sometimes, but not anymore. It’s nice and quiet now.

Calhoun: We asked our patients about that. And I think because of the proximity of our rooms and being semi-private, it was very difficult for us to keep the environment quiet at night and even throughout the day. But it feels different here. It feels peaceful.

Maude Elliott, RN, Medical Surgical Unit: It’s so bright, and it just makes you want to stay here. It makes you excited to get up and go to work because you’re like it’s going to be so great. It’s such a beautiful place to work in and a good environment.

Calhoun: I appreciate that, too. As I walk around, I just see a lot of smiles and people are happy and you all are doing fantastic things for our patients, and we really appreciate it.

Intensive Care Unit

Julee Flohr, CNA, Intensive Care Unit: I like that the nurses are in between our rooms. I feel like they’re a lot closer to their patients, so it’s easier to have eyes on, especially for our sicker patients. And if the tech needs them, they’re easily found. And then they have their trackers, so I can look above my rooms and see where my nurses are. So that’s pretty nice.

The Birth Place

Katie Garretson, RN, The Birth Place: I think, for me, the most exciting part is just the fact that the tower is here. Being at CMH for 12 years, I’ve heard about the tower going to be coming, and it just always seemed like a big dream that we’d never see it. And now it’s here, and it almost doesn’t feel real that we’re in it and this is the new part and we’re having babies here. It’s here, and it’s all the light. We have so much light in the rooms.

Haley Maloney, RN, The Birth Place: The double monitors at the nurse’s station are really nice. We can have our fetal monitors pulled up on one screen, but be able to chart in another screen so that we can see both of them at the same time.

Calhoun: I feel like now, when you greet staff, there’s more smiles, more people gathering down at the cafeteria. More people sharing with each other. To me, that just makes it more exciting to come to work every day.

Garretson: I think it’s been a morale boost.

Calhoun: I do, too. Genuinely so. We’ve been planning on this for a really long time and are just so glad that it’s here. Now we move into phase two, and everything’s going to be updated.