Hospital celebrates completion of North Wing renovation

Donors gave $513,000 to update nursing home section of hospital

Photos by Tom Rivers
MEDINA – Jim Moody, executive director of the Orleans Community Health Foundation, addresses donors and supporters in the new community room of the North Wing at Medina Memorial Hospital after a donor recognition board was unveiled on Thursday.

The hospital seven years ago started raising money to update the North Wing, which is a nursing home for 30 residents.

Donors gave $513,000 towards the project, with renovations occurring over two years.

Christina Khushalani (center), North Wing administrator, helps to unveil the donor appreciation display in the community room. There were 805 donations, at an average of $638, towards the project.

“We don’t want to be an institution, we want to be home,” Khushalani said a reception to celebrate the renovations.

Besides revamped living and community areas, the North Wing has an environment enriched with green space, visitors and activities, Khushalani said.

“This is a beautiful environment,” she said.

The project included a new sprinkler system, four air handler units, new cabinetry, an updated area for the nursing staff, new furniture for the resident rooms and the dining room, a new floor and a fresh coat of paint, and the new community room.

There also is access to an outdoor patio at the North Wing, which is on the second floor of the hospital.

The improvements were made room by room to reduce disruptions to residents.

Each of the rooms has new furniture, paint, windows, and other improvements.

“It’s a more comfortable place,” said Sandra Madejski, president of Orleans Community Health Foundation. “We’ve always had excellent care but our facility needed to be updated. Now we have great care and a facility that is worthy for residents to call home.”

Cheryl Ann Bilski, president and CEO of Functional Interiors, worked on the interior design for the project.

“The goal was to take away from the antiquated look it had,” she said. “It’s important the residents feel comfortable in their surroundings.”

Nurses Jen Rider, left, and Miranda Miller are pictured at the new nurses station, which tends to be a popular place for residents to congregate.

The project reduced the nurses station area by half and added more chairs, and a fake fire place in an area where residents like to socialize.

There are four color-coded door frames – gold, rust, live green and teal – to help residents and visitors be oriented in the wing.

Takeform Architectural Graphics in Medina designed new room numbers and donor plaques with a floral feel, an in-kind donation for the project. Takeform also donated the donor recognition board.

Wendy Jacobson, interim CEO and president of the hospital and Orleans Community Health, thanked donors for supporting the project.

“It’s a wonderful thing that so many community members have created this wonderful home,” she said.