Fairview Park Hospital in Dublin begins ICU expansion project

Fairview Park Hospital's ICU expansion expected to increase capacity, reduce wait times, and improve patient outcomes in Middle Georgia.

DUBLIN, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT)- Fairview Park Hospital in Dublin has started a yearlong ICU expansion project, which is anticipated to be completed by Spring 2025. The goal of the project is to enhance healthcare services in the region.

According to a news release from Fairview Park Hospital, the hospital’s parent company, HCA, has invested in a 50% increase in the hospital’s ICU capacity. This expansion will see the current ICU grow from 16 beds to 24, adding eight critical care beds. This increase is designed to benefit Dublin-Laurens County and the many rural communities that rely on Fairview Park Hospital for advanced medical care.

“Our ICU is at capacity almost every single day, largely because we serve a much larger community than Dublin-Laurens County,” said Don Avery, FACHE, President and CEO of Fairview Park Hospital. “We serve nearly a dozen surrounding counties, and we need to be positioned to better meet some of those higher-level needs as the regional referral hospital in middle Georgia. This will have a significant impact on the community.”

During the expansion project, part of the hospital’s third floor has been temporarily taken offline. In addition to adding new ICU beds, the hospital will update the remaining patient rooms on the third floor. Avery expects patient and visitor disruption will be minimal, with construction areas blocked off from public view, but there may be more noise during the workday as the demolition phase gets underway.

The addition of eight ICU beds will positively impact several key aspects of patient care at Fairview Park Hospital. Increased ICU capacity means shorter wait times in the emergency room as patients requiring intensive care have faster access to available beds. This expansion will also reduce the need for patient transfers to other hospitals due to limited capacity and enable Fairview Park to accept more transfers from other facilities, keeping more patients closer to home.

Tami Thomsen, RN, BSN, CCRN, Director of the ICU, says “We know having timely access to a bed for our critical patients is paramount in their journey. This will allow us to reach more patients and provide quality care to more people in need.”