Hospital authority approves renovation work for pharmacy

By Jessica Waters
The Toccoa Record

The Stephens County Hospital pharmacy will get a shot in the arm later this year in the form of a complete and total renovation, said hospital administrator Ed Gambrell.

Hospital authority members Monday unanimously voted to move ahead with the renovation project utilizing the services of the Walter Hopkins Company of Atlanta. “It (the pharmacy) has not been touched since 1983, and obviously, after 26 years, there has been a lot of wear and tear, and we just need to go in and renovate it,” Gambrell said following the vote at the authority’s monthly meeting.

“But on top of that, there is a new federal regulation that hospital pharmacies must comply with now … creating a sterile area in the pharmacy to prepare add mixers,” he said. Gambrell said the pharmacy operation will be relocated within the hospital campus during the renovations, which are expected to begin sometime in mid- to late- August and last approximately eight weeks. The cost is expected to run approximately $112,000, plus the cost of heating and air conditioning.

Board members also approved, by unanimous vote, the purchase of new, digital Pentax colonoscopy and esophagoscopy equipment for a cost of approximately $158,990. The hospital performs, each month, an average of 66 procedures that would utilize the new scope equipment. “T his (equipment) will provide clearer pictures, which means improved diagnostics,” said Gambrell.

The monthly hospital safety report included 19 unruly visitor incidents, 10 unruly patient incidents and one theft. A total of 20 additional security cameras have been added throughout the hospital campus, providing a live feed back to a monitor station.