Russell County hospital to undergo historic expansion

RUSSELL SPRINGS, Ky. (FOX 56) — Hospitals, especially in rural communities, are vital after a medical emergency.

In Russell County, the local hospital in Russell Springs is continuing its commitment to patients by providing the best care possible.

Starting soon, Russell County Hospital will undergo the largest expansion in the hospital’s history, which spans more than four decades.

Hospital CEO Scott Thompson said the more than $32 million expansion will ensure no one in the area has to go farther than they need to to get life-saving care.

“For us, it’ll be a brand-new ER, larger than the one we have,” Thompson described. “Brand new OR that doubles what we have now, almost. A new radiology department. We already have state-of-the-art equipment, but we’ve got it scattered all over the hospital because we don’t have room. This will consolidate mammography, CT, and women’s services.”

Thompson said most of their patients come to the hospital on their worst days, so they want to ensure the best outcomes possible are right in a patient’s backyard.

“We have people weekly who come here either because they’re actively having a heart attack or stroke, and we get them adequately treated, packaged up, and then on to a higher level of care,” Thompson explained. “We’ve got testimonials from tons of people that simply would not be alive today if we weren’t here, if they had to go from Russell County, if they couldn’t stop here and they had to go straight to Somerset or Taylor County or Lexington or whatever, they wouldn’t have lived.”

Thompson said that, while community members are excited, some will need to see the finished product before believing it.

“In what used to be my office, there are a half million dollars’ worth of architect plans from 1994 through 2010 of things that didn’t happen and so justifiably, so people are still skeptical,” Thompson said. “It’s hard to get new business and industry into a town that doesn’t have a good hospital, almost impossible.”

Thompson said the project won’t cost taxpayers a dime.

Thanks to the money the hospital had on hand, as well as tax credits and funding from the state, they have enough cash to complete the project.

As for a timeline, Thompson said it is not soon enough, but they are hoping to break ground in October.