Yes!  This week, additional paved parking should be opening at NMC near Cobblestone Health Commons.  This will be a welcome expansion, as that has been our tightest area for staff and patient parking during recent weeks.  We sincerely appreciate the patience and flexibility of our patients and visitors (as well as our providers and staff) as roadways and parking areas have shifted during this phase of construction. 

Our team has been working hard on reducing inconveniences and answering questions.  Our employees and volunteers have enjoyed the questions from patients and visitors and the general focus on how exciting it is to see the project in motion and the anticipation for the final project.  We also appreciate the suggestions about how to make things better during construction.  One patient even took the time to pause to thank our team for implementing a suggestion he had made a few days earlier!  It has been good to see that the feedback on the assistance from our campus ambassador in the parking lot and the volunteers at the main entrance has been very positive.. 

This week, we are scheduled to have the newly relocated section of Crest Road (behind the hospital itself) paved and the sidewalks along it completed.  This will be a welcomed step forward for everyone on campus!  During the paving, sections of Crest Road will be reduced to one lane and flaggers will be active to assist traffic flow.  Access to Cobblestone and Doctors office will be maintained, so patients will continue to be able to reach Northwestern Urgent Care and the many services and provider practices housed in those buildings.  Please drive carefully as you move through the paving in progress.

Visitors familiar with our campus may also notice that the Loading Dock, located on the east side of the main hospital building, has been temporarily relocated to the north.  Delivery vehicles now travel around towards the back of the hospital to access the temporary loading dock, which is located where the employee entrance had previously been located.  Our supply vendors are adapting well to the change.  Still, it is worth noting that this is new for them and paying extra attention to their path of travel when encountering one of their vehicles on campus. 

Meanwhile, site work and demolition is occurring at the front of the hospital.  The former main entrance has been removed and the old section of the hospital which most recently served as undersized temporary quarters for Northwestern Cardiology and Northwestern Pulmonology and the NMC Laboratory Blood Draw service has been removed.  These services have been temporarily relocated: Cardiology/Pulmonology are now in Suite 10 of Doctors Office Common and the Lab Blood Draw is now in Suite 1 of Doctors Office Common.  At the back of the hospital, site work and initial construction has begun on the expansion of the Medical/Surgical wing that will provide space necessary for our conversion to all private rooms for our inpatients. 

We are excited that these enhancements to our healing environment are underway.  They represent an important strategic step forward for medical care at the hospital, as they align our local facility with the direction of healthcare in Vermont.  Quality inpatient care is fundamental and meeting community need through excellence in outpatient care is essential.  Construction on a busy campus is never easy and our team is committed to working through it with a constant eye on what is best for our patients.  To stay up to date on our progress, please visit the construction section of our website at https://www.northwesternmedicalcenter.org/about-nmc/who-we-are/construction-updates/ We welcome your questions and feedback and you are welcomed to call NMC Community Relations at 524-1280 for more information.  Thank you for your patience and support as we work through this exciting project.

— Jill Berry Bowen, NMC’s Chief Executive Officer