Construction to begin soon at YRMC

The three projects bring an estimated cost of $70 million

YUMA, Ariz (KECY, KYMA) - Building improvements are officially coming to Yuma Regional Medical Center and patients will see them soon.

Three separate projects were unanimously approved by the Hospital District Board, a new MRI in the hospital, laboratory expansion and modernization, and a sterile processing area redesign.

YRMC says the MRI construction will begin immediately with the ordering of equipment. The new machine will allow patients to stay on-site for scans.

The lab and the sterile processing area updates will take multiple years but ultimately benefit blood and cancer testing. Those are bigger projects that require building permits.

The current condition of the lab was a topic of concern at a recent hospital district board special meeting.

“When you have a surgery, and a tissue sample comes out, that's how you're getting your cancer diagnosis. Your blood tests when you're having a stroke or a heart attack in our emergency room, that's the laboratory running the tests," Lab worker Allison Boehler said.

"If we don’t have proper temperature humidity, water supply, drainage from the waste, places to put the new instrumentation, that’s really going to affect your care," Boehler said.

The lab has also been used during the pandemic for COVID-19 testing.

The District Board said they received adequate financial information from YRMC in order to approve the construction.

Estimates for the total cost of the projects is $70 million.