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Community

Trinity Rock Island Launches Fundraising Campaign for Largest Expansion Ever

A local hospital wants to involve residents in the largest expansion in its history. Today, Trinity Rock Island launched a fundraising campaign for its new Heart Center and emergency department.

Trinity broke ground on the project last June, including a 90,000 square foot building for emergency care, an area for behavioral health treatment, and 22 state-of-the-art rooms for cardiac care. 

Chief Medical Officer, Paul McLoone, says the new space will prevent crowding.  

"You want some privacy. You want a chance to discuss things when there are very serious conditions or life changes going on, and I think the new facility will provide that with better privacy, better comfort, and better flow for the patients. I think it'll just be a much better experience."

Trinity is in the final phase of raising $6 million to pay for the project, which should open in April. McLoone and his wife have announced they will match up to $25,000 in donations from the community through the end of this year. 

He says, "We felt excited for this project because of what it meant for the community and for the patients that I've seen in the past and I think will come through here in the future and appreciate it, but also we feel very proud to be very part of the community and we want the community connection back to this project."

The total cost for expansion is $61 million. 

McLoone expects to serve about 60,000 patients a year in the new emergency room, heart center, and mental health treatment facility.  

Renata Sago is WMFE's general assignment reporter and occasional Morning Edition anchor. She covers everything from major political campaigns and unemployment to civil rights legislation and the performing arts for WMFE and NPR.