Jewish Hospital Shelbyville, part of KentuckyOne Health, held a ribbon-cutting ceremony in late February for its newly-renovated emergency department. The recent emergency department renovations were made possible by a $200,000 gift from the Colonel Harland Sanders Foundation, which was presented to the Jewish Hospital & St. Mary’s Foundation in September 2017.

“This investment to improve the emergency department at Jewish Hospital Shelbyville will benefit patients in several counties, by enhancing the quality and speed of emergency care,” said Leslie Smart, president, St. Mary’s Foundation, part of KentuckyOne Health. “This is an exciting milestone for the hospital, which will help improve its capacity to meet the ever-growing demand for medical services.”

More than 90 percent of the patients that Jewish Hospital Shelbyville serves enter through the emergency room. The emergency department redesign helps creates a more effective and patient-friendly registration area, and allows for expanded and improved patient access areas. The renovations began in early October and were completed at the end of December.

“These renovations were vital, as the emergency department at Jewish Hospital Shelbyville experiences heavy patient traffic on a daily basis,” Ron Waldridge, MD, chief medical officer, Jewish Hospital Shelbyville. “We are grateful for the support of the Colonel Harland Sanders Foundation for making this possible.”

Funding from the Colonel Harland Sanders Foundation and other community donors has allowed Jewish Hospital Shelbyville to grow and continuously improve care on a local level. The Colonel Harland Sanders Foundation currently supports 28 projects in Canada and the United States.

“This project was personal for us, as Jewish Hospital Shelbyville was, without a doubt, Colonel Sanders’ first hospital choice,” said Shirley Topmiller, a director of the Colonel Harland Sanders Foundation. “We are thrilled to fund this critical emergency room enhancement to help others in the Shelbyville community, where the Colonel once lived.”