LOCAL KIDS GET THE LAST LOOK INSIDE
PROVIDENCE HOOD RIVER’S NEW BUILDING
BEFORE ITS PUBLIC OPENING MARCH 16

March 12, 2009

HOOD RIVER, Ore. – Four hundred fourth and fifth graders from schools throughout Hood River County School District got the last “sneak peek” inside the new hospital expansion at Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital this week, before the new building opens for patients next Monday, March 16.

Kids visited various hospital work stations including:

- Providence’s new surgery center, where kids learned about operations inside a real surgical unit and left with sterile surgical caps.

- Nursing, where they learned about hospital jobs, caring for others and left with their own hand-made nurse’s hats.

- Nutrition, where they held a five pound glob of fat and learned about better eating habits.

Kids also witnessed Youthful Art that was created by Gorge area school children that now hangs inside the new building lobby. They took one last look inside the Providence Hood River Time Capsule before it is buried outside the new hospital building next week.

Providence’s new 36,000-square-foot addition showcases the best in health care advances and technology, including features not found in many small community hospitals. The facility offers an advanced new family birth center, expanded surgery center, diagnostic imaging center and infusion (oncology and blood disorder) services. The new expansion is part of Providence Hood River’s 72,000-square-foot expansion and modernization project scheduled for completion later this year.

Hood River County classes attending field trips this week:

Wed. March 11
Dos Mundos, Westside – 4th grade
May Street school - 4th grade
Cascade Locks – grade 4-5

Thurs. March 12
Mid Valley – 4th grade
Pine Grove – 4-5
Parkdale – grade 4-5

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Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital is part of Providence Health & Services, the state’s leading health system and largest private employer. Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital is a full-service, critical-access hospital with a 24-hour Emergency Department. Providence offers a wide range of health care services in the communities of the Columbia River Gorge through its clinics, care centers and senior living facilities.