Laurel Regional Hospital Marks 30-Year Anniversary

By George Berkheimer, STAFF WRITER

Laurel Regional Hospital (LRH) will commemorate 30 years of service with a Founders Day celebration and open house on May 13. The hospital's doors will be open beginning at 11 a.m. for free health screenings and tours of the recently upgraded clinical services departments.
"The purpose of the Laurel Regional Hospital Founders Day celebration is to honor many of the contributors and supporters who have assisted in the establishment and development of the hospital over the years," said LRH President Doug Shepherd.
"We have extended an invitation to the community to join us in this celebration by coming into the hospital to see the growth we have achieved in the past 30 years, particularly in the capabilities and services we provide," he said.
During the past few years, the hospital began an upgrading and expansion program that included improvements to the Emergency Department, allowing it to better meet a growing need for emergency services in its service area.
LRH serves about 38,000 emergency patients annually, and that number is expected to increase as a result of growth in the City of Laurel that will be compounded by the arrival of new residents tied to the coming Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) consolidation at Fort Meade.
The Emergency Department project expanded LRH's emergency treatment capacity by nearly 40% and necessitated the relocation of its Cardiology Department.
This year the hospital continued its quest to upgrade its facilities by adding critical imaging equipment, including a high-tech 64-slice CT scanner and a dual-head nuclear camera.
"We are presently installing a new state-of-the-art Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory and are currently renovating our Maternal Child Health unit," Shepherd said.
Work on the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory is expected to be completed in September, while the new obstetrics unit should be operational by the end of the month.
Once all of the ongoing renovations have been completed, the hospital is planning to hold a grand opening celebration tentatively scheduled for late fall 2008.
"We will announce more details as soon as we make the final decisions and preparations," Shepherd said.
As part of the 30th anniversary festivities, LRH and the Laurel Art Guild will sponsor a Children's Art Contest for children from 5 to 18 years of age, focusing on the theme "Caring and Sharing at My Community Hospital."
An awards presentation will be held on June 6 at 6:30 p.m. at the hospital's J. Russell Jones Conference Room, and artwork will be on display at the hospital from June 16 through Aug. 8.