Abrom Kaplan Memorial Hospital to host groundbreaking ceremony

Abrom Kaplan Memorial Hospital (AKMH), located at 1310 W. 7th Street in Kaplan, will host a groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday, August 2 at 11:00 to celebrate the start of a $4.7 million expansion and renovation project. While the hospital has undergone extensive renovations since opening its doors on June 2, 1960, this is the first time the hospital has expanded since 1984 when the emergency department was added.

“This expansion will create easier access for our patients, enhance services and create a better overall patient experience,” said AKMH Chief Executive Officer Bryce Quebodeaux.

The expansion includes a new business and patient registration and consultation area, new patient waiting area and conference room, new restrooms, new ultrasound room and a new pharmacy. Other features include consolidating all outpatient cardio procedures, such as EKG, Holter monitoring and home-based sleep studies, which were just introduced in July. Additionally, all phlebotomy will be located just off of the lobby area making lab work quick and accessible for patients. Other improvements included dedicated outpatient and inpatient entrances and dedicated space for physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy. All radiology will be together, featuring an improved, 64-slice CT scanner. And for the first time, Abrom Kaplan Memorial Hospital will offer MRI.

The 58-year-old hospital has a current square footage of 38,784. More than 7,000 square feet of that space will be renovated; while 6,419 square feet will be added during the expansion project. The entire project is slated to be completed by December 2019.

AKMH reached an agreement in 2015 to have LGH take over complete management through a long-term lease of the facility. The property still belongs to the Vermilion Parish Hospital Service District #1. Tax money from the district continues to be used to benefit AKMH only and is not absorbed by the health system.

“Our partnership with Lafayette General Health continues to benefit the people of Vermilion Parish and brings our hospital opportunities that were once unavailable. It’s opened our doors to a network of additional resources, advanced medical services and specializations that were previously only available for large institutions,” continued Quebodeaux. “We are very pleased by what we’ve experienced over the last three years.”