Rockcastle Regional plans $14M expansion to become nation’s largest freestanding ventilator facility

Hospital will become nation’s largest freestanding ventilator facility

VERNON, Ky. (Nov. 9, 2015) — Rockcastle Regional Hospital’s Respiratory Care Center soon will become the largest freestanding ventilator facility in the country. A 67,000-s.f. expansion will add 28 new ventilator beds to the facility, bringing the total to 121. It is expected to open in spring 2017.

The expansion will create 85 new full-time jobs, bringing the total number of Rockcastle Regional employees to 730. Sixty-two of the new jobs will be professional, licensed positions such as nurses and therapists.

Rockcastle Regional’s Respiratory Care Center provides state-of-the-art care for patients who, because of illness or injury, are dependent on mechanical ventilators to breathe. It opened in 1983 and has experienced several major expansions over the years.

The expansion will enable the organization to offer more resources that will further enhance quality of life such as a dedicated resident dining facility, new and spacious day rooms for activities, a large chapel dedicated to residents, and a 2,200-s.f. resident rehabilitation center.