St. Mary Medical Center has renovated a short-stay surgery unit on the second floor of its West Wing, a section of the hospital built in the late 1940s. Patients who come in for surgery not requiring an overnight stay in the hospital use this unit. In many cases, they are brought back to the unit after their surgery, until their physician releases them. The short-stay unit had not been renovated since the 1960s and was in dire need of a makeover. The waiting area, the nurses station and the patient rooms have been updated with a new palette of colors, window treatments, floor coverings, furniture and artwork.
The short-stay surgery unit renovation project was funded by the St. Mary Golf Committee, which donated $170,000 from its annual charity golf tournament and the St. Mary Guild, which donated $290,000 from its various fundraisers. Renovation began in late 2007 and was completed in April 2008. One of the driving forces of the project was Pat Kidd, former St. Mary Guild president, who passed away in February 2008. She was very excited about the project and committed to providing a beautiful and tasteful new unit for St. Mary patients and their families. However, Pat never saw the completed unit, but a room will be named in her honor since it was during her three years as guild president that the funds were raised.
