NORWALK, Ohio - Nearly 50 years ago, Fisher-Titus Memorial Hospital opened on 17 acres overlooking gently rolling farmland south of downtown Norwalk.

The facility, built for $1.8 million, featured seven self-contained medical wings and corridors with exterior walls of glass, affording views of lawns and landscaped gardens.

After several renovation and expansion projects since the hospital's debut in 1957, officials at what is now known as Fisher-Titus Medical Center are preparing to open a $28 million addition that will expand its patient facilities by nearly 50 percent.

The new Fisher-Titus Patient Pavilion includes 101,000 square feet (equal to the original hospital), 75 private patient rooms, and amenities such as room service, Internet access, and large, comfortable waiting areas.

New medical facilities include an ambulatory surgery unit and a birthing center with private rooms where mothers can stay from labor through delivery and postpartum recovery. Those experiencing difficult, painful labor can take advantage of a room outfitted with a whirlpool tub and oversized, padded chairs that rock or have ottomans.

Hospital President Pat Martin said board members and officials agreed it was time to update the medical center for the 21st century.

"Think of the technical capabilities of a '57 Chevy versus a 2005 Impala Super Sport," Mr. Martin said yesterday as he led a tour of the addition. "Well, a hospital is no different."

Peg Baird, the hospital's executive vice president and manager of the construction project, noted one example: None of the current facility's patient bathrooms can accommodate people with disabilities.

"Our patient rooms are very, very small. They are semiprivate rooms, and they have airline-style bathrooms," she said. "They are so small they do not accommodate IV poles. So we knew we needed to upgrade our facilities."

By contrast, the new patient rooms are all private and average about 250 square feet.

They're equipped with flat-screen televisions, comfy upholstered chairs that unfold into visitor beds, and spacious, handicapped-accessible bathrooms with zero depth-entry showers.

The patient rooms, hallways, and nurses' stations are decorated in soothing shades of beige, green, and blue. A graceful glass tower at the building's main entrance provides panoramic views of a pond, fountain, and other nearby buildings from the first-floor lobby and waiting areas on the upper three floors.

Mr. Martin said Fisher-Titus, which is independently owned, is financing the project and other hospital improvements with $37.5 million in revenue bonds.

As a result of the project, employment at the medical center - the second-largest employer in Huron County - will rise to about 865 from 853.

Patients and staff are scheduled to move into the new pavilion in mid-August.

Right after that, work will begin on a year-long, $12 million project to expand Fisher-Titus's patient rehabilitation and cancer treatment center.

Part of that project will involve construction and part will involve renovation of the hospital building.

"The day after we move patients into the pavilion, we're going to begin Phase 2," Mr. Martin said.

Residents will get their first up-close look at the new pavilion during an open house from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Sunday.

A ribbon-cutting, to be attended by U.S. Rep. Paul Gillmor (R., Old Fort) and other public officials, is scheduled for 1 p.m.

Contact Steve Murphy at:

smurphy@theblade.com

or 419-724-6078.

First Published July 27, 2005, 8:10 a.m.