Hospital Campus to Showcase New Emergency Department

(Rendering provided by Franciscan Alliance Inc.)

The signature piece of a nearly $70 million hospital campus overhaul is set for its public debut. Franciscan Healthcare-Munster will showcase its new emergency department Sunday. The project includes 40,000 square-feet of renovations and 80,000 square-feet of new space.

The full scope of the campus upgrades also includes more patient rooms, gift shop, chapel and cafeteria-dining room.

The emergency department will be equipped to handle conditions including chest pain, stroke, breathing difficulties, motor vehicle accidents, fractures, sprains, cuts and contusions. It will also feature a trauma room, negative airflow area, gynecological room and on-site colposcope.

Franciscan Healthcare-Munster has undergone a myriad of changes recently, including a name change from Franciscan Physicians Hospital in Lake County, which coincided with a shift from a for-profit partnership between Mishawaka-based Franciscan Alliance Inc. and physician shareholders to nonprofit status. Top leadership also changed in June when Michael Stenger took over as president and CEO of the Munster hospital as well as the Dyer and Hammond Franciscan St. Margaret Health campuses.