A $10 million

bond recently approved by the Fayette County Commission will go a long

way toward improving the services at Fayette Community Hospital, officials

say.

Ryan Duffey,

who handles public relations at the hospital, said the hospital is already

starting on some of the projects being funded by the bond.

All of the

projects will be in the existing building with no dramatic exterior construction,

she said.

When the hospital

was built, officials shelled in two wings on the third floor for future

expansion.

Now, workers

are busy creating a complete medical records department in one of the

wings.

Duffey said

the new department will centralize storage of the documents and make the

entire hospital run more efficiently.

Additionally,

the hospital is building an inpatient physical therapy center on the third

floor, complete with two whirlpools to help patients heal and get stronger.

"When

we built the hospital, we were not sure of the mix of patients we would

get. We're seeing a lot more orthopedic patients than we thought,"

she said.

Other projects

to be built under the bond include an additional 12 patient rooms.

Duffey said

the hospital will still remain a 100-bed facility, but will decrease the

dependence on semiprivate rooms.

The bond approved

through the county to provide the hospital with low rates to fund its

expansion.

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