Sep 28, 2004 By Christine Haines 2 min read

A ribbon-cutting is set for this Friday evening for the reopening of the Intensive Car Unit (ICU) at Brownsville General Hospital. “Contingent upon having enough staff, we’ll reopen next week,” said Brownsville General Hospital Chief Executive Officer Mike Evans.

Evans said the Pennsylvania Department of Health will conduct its final inspection of the ICU this Wednesday.

The hospital closed its 7-bed ICU in April in an attempt to reduce expenses. The financially-troubled hospital is in negotiations with the Gosai-Gandhi medical group to take over operation of the hospital, with the property staying in the hands of the current board of directors. Evans said that reopening the ICU is one of the conditions of the agreement.

“Ambulance crews will be more comfortable bringing patients here,” Evans said. “Doctors will feel more comfortable referring patients for treatment. Anything can go wrong at any time. This definitely makes us a more secure environment.”

Critically ill patients and even patients needing in-patient dialysis treatments had been referred to Monongahela Valley Hospital while Brownsville’s ICU was closed. Evans said he doesn’t anticipate any problem filling the ICU when it reopens.

Evans said there were times in the past when the hospital lost money on the intensive care unit even though the beds were full, because it was keeping patients past the time allowed for insurance reimbursements.

Evans said care plans will be established for each intensive care patient to determine the best placement for each patient, whether it is keeping them in the unit, moving them to a general care room, or releasing them to a nursing home or hospice care.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony and reception will take place at the hospital Friday evening from 6-8 p.m.