Memories And Sadness Greet Montgomery Hospital Demolition

NORRISTOWN, PA – The start of a six-month demolition of the seven-story Montgomery Hospital building on Powell Street this week has unlocked a flood of emotional responses from former patients, employees and residents of the nearby Locust Street block.

“It’s sad, but it is what it is,” said Leah Yzzi, a 16-year resident of Norristown who worked at the hospital as both a switchboard operator and as a teenage candy striper. “It was stupid to move the hospital to East Norriton.”

Yzzi gave birth to her three children — Kailee, 13, Jordan 12, and Angelo, 8 — at Montgomery Hospital.

“I made a lot of friends there. My mom, Kathy Kriebel, worked there for 15 years as an oncology nurse,” she said. “My step-dad, Dave Trumbore, worked there as an infectious disease doctor. I actually candy striped there for two summers in high school. I liked doing that.”

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Karabots Foundation Gives $7.5 Million Gift To Einstein Medical Center Montgomery

NORRISTOWN — A $7.5 million gift from the Karabots Foundation and Nicholas and Athena Karabots to Einstein Healthcare Network (EHN) was delivered Wednesday afternoon during a gala celebration under a white tent erected on Powell Street next to the newly renamed Nicholas and Athena Karabots Medical Building.

More than 150 physicians, nurses and top managers from EHN and Einstein Medical Center Montgomery (EMCM) came to celebrate the gift that benefits three buildings in the healthcare system.

“The first phase was cosmetic improvements to the common areas of the building including new carpet, paint, new lighting and ceiling tiles,” said Rich Montalbano, the project executive at Einstein Healthcare Network. “That was completed this winter. The second and third phases will occur over the next two years and include replacing the outdated central air conditioning systems and replacing the two elevators.”

Read more: http://www.timesherald.com/general-news/20140521/karabots-foundation-gives-75-million-gift-to-einstein-medical-center-montgomery

Einstein Medical Center Montgomery Voted Fifth ‘Most Beautiful Hospital In America

Location of East Norriton Township in Montgomery County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

EAST NORRITON — It’s the dazzling head turner that neither the original facility in Norristown nor the golf course it replaced ever were.

And thousands of folks agree, voting Einstein Medical Center Montgomery the fifth “Most Beautiful Hospital in America” for 2013 in a survey sponsored by Soliant Health.

Not a bad way to help celebrate Einstein Montgomery’s first-year anniversary, coming up on Sept. 29.

“I thought we had a pretty good chance, since this is such a stunning environment,” said the hospital’s Chief Operating Officer Beth Duffy. “We get tons of positive comments from people. The support from the community has just been tremendous.”

Read more: http://www.timesherald.com/business/20130925/einstein-medical-center-montgomery-voted-fifth-most-beautiful-hospital-in-america

Einstein Medical Center Montgomery Expanding

Location of East Norriton Township in Montgomery County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

EAST NORRITON – It’s been barely six months since the shiny new Einstein Medical Center Montgomery debuted on the site of the old “Woody’s” golf course, and already the hospital is growing.

Expansion to the latest addition of the Einstein Healthcare Network – essentially a conversion of the west wing of the medical center’s fourth floor – came a bit sooner than anticipated, noted Beth Duffy, Chief Operating Officer of Einstein Medical Center Montgomery.

“We really thought it would happen a year or two down the road, but the early success of Einstein Medical Center Montgomery has created the need for additional patient care areas.”

Luckily, expansion opportunities were built in during the original construction, Duffy explained.

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Advanced Robotic Surgery Debuts At Einstein Medical Center Montgomery

Location of East Norriton Township in Montgomery County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

EAST NORRITON – Men who choose to undergo a robotic prostatectomy for treatment of prostate cancer have a much sunnier outlook than those who have their prostates removed by traditional surgery.

Young Kwak didn’t need to read that result of a study recently published in The Journal of Urology to know he was more than happy with his own robotic experience.

As the first patient at Einstein Medical Center Montgomery in East Norriton whose operation was assisted by the daVinci Surgery Robot, the Limerick resident said his goal was to get it done and move on with his life.

“Then I wouldn’t worry about it,” said Kwak, who underwent surgery on Jan. 18. “I liked the idea of a fast recovery without a big incision. I get really bored just sitting around. When they wheeled me into the operating room everyone was very excited and cheering. I have two colleagues at work with prostate cancer. One thinks he needs to go far away for treatment. I told him he didn’t have to do that. We’ve got the best right here. The new hospital is gorgeous. It looks and feels like a hotel.”

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Einstein Medical Center Montgomery Ready For Sept. 29 Debut

Location of East Norriton Township in Montgomery County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

EAST NORRITON — The clock is ticking down with last-minute installation work, a required state Department of Health inspection and final cleaning before the doors open Sept. 29 on the $350 million, 146-bed Einstein Medical Center Montgomery (EMCM) hospital on Germantown Pike.

A recent press tour of the five-story facility included working journalists and four aspiring journalists from Gotwals Elementary School. Third-fourth grade teacher Katie Sortino accompanied Yazzmin Hernandez, Amayrami Lopez, Derrick Honeycutt and Zavier Wedderburn as they took notes for a late October edition of the “Healthy Press.”

A crowd of 5,000 to 10,000 local residents are expected at a Sept. 22 “Community Day and Open House,” from noon to 6 p.m., to tour the facility before an official 6 a.m., Sept. 29, hospital opening. Forty to 50 patients at Montgomery Hospital in Norristown will be transferred with six ambulances to EMCM on Sept. 29, starting at 7 a.m., said Beth Duffy, the chief operating officer of EMCM.

Montgomery Hospital had 87 patients on Sept. 5. Hospital administrators will not accept elective procedure patients at Montgomery Hospital close to the closing date to reduce the number of patients requiring transfers.

New Hospital In East Norriton Township Set To Open September 2012

Image via Wikipedia

As the Einstein Medical Center Montgomery (EMCM) construction project in East Norriton moves toward a September 2012 opening, the fate of the Montgomery Hospital building in Norristown is hanging on the subsidized financing for a senior housing proposal.

The seven-story, Montgomery Hospital building on Powell Street may become the home for 108 apartments for seniors, a children’s day-care center and a senior day-care center if the financing plans of Mission First Housing Development Corp. (MFHDC) win state approval.

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