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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Senior Housing Plan Presented In Norristown For Vacant Montgomery Hospital Building

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Montgomery County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

NORRISTOWN, PA — The consensus of public opinion Tuesday night about a proposal to build 100 independent-living apartments for seniors and a senior support building at the former Montgomery Hospital site on Powell Street was largely positive.

More than 25 Norristown residents heard the first public presentation of the plans by the Elon Group of Fort Washington at the Montgomery County Human Services Center from Francis Vargas, vice president of the Elon Group, and several executives from Einstein Healthcare Network (EHN), which owns the 365,000-square-foot, seven-story building and 3.7-acre parcel.

“The proposal is not much different from last year as far as the senior housing,” said Norristown Councilwoman Linda Christian. “Last year the proposal was for the overall, same amount of units that was denied by the funders.”

Read more: http://www.timesherald.com/general-news/20140213/senior-housing-plan-presented-in-norristown-for-vacant-montgomery-hospital-building

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 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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