Last Day for Hospital
By: Kevin Flanigan
Updated: March 28, 2012
ALTOONA, BLAIR COUNTY - The former Bon Secours hospital in Altoona is closing its doors for the last time on Wednesday afternoon. The move comes after three years of planning and about eight years after the merger of the two hospitals in Altoona was first announced.
The last patients in the Seventh Avenue Campus of the Altoona Regional Health System moved out over the last couple of days. As of three, Wednesday afternoon, the emergency room off of Eighth Avenue will be shut down and all patients interested in medical care from Altoona Regional will have to report to the Altoona Hospital Campus on Howard Avenue.
The people in charge of Altoona Regional say it no longer makes sense to operate two similar facilities just a couple miles apart. They point to a three year long, $60 million facilities and service enhancement project that has recently been completed. They say that made this the right time has come to shut down one of the two in-patient hospital buildings and emergency rooms operated by Altoona Regional Health System.
On this final day of operations on the old hospital property, there was still a lot of activity moving equipment out and preparing the facility to shut down. The future of the property and buildings still has to be determined.
The last patients in the Seventh Avenue Campus of the Altoona Regional Health System moved out over the last couple of days. As of three, Wednesday afternoon, the emergency room off of Eighth Avenue will be shut down and all patients interested in medical care from Altoona Regional will have to report to the Altoona Hospital Campus on Howard Avenue.
The people in charge of Altoona Regional say it no longer makes sense to operate two similar facilities just a couple miles apart. They point to a three year long, $60 million facilities and service enhancement project that has recently been completed. They say that made this the right time has come to shut down one of the two in-patient hospital buildings and emergency rooms operated by Altoona Regional Health System.
On this final day of operations on the old hospital property, there was still a lot of activity moving equipment out and preparing the facility to shut down. The future of the property and buildings still has to be determined.
