Porter’s Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Nalli recently announced that the construction of the new 266-bed Porter hospital at the corner of Ind. 49 and US 6 is three months ahead of schedule and that the transfer of patient care activities will now occur on Saturday, Aug. 25, rather than the originally projected date in late November.

Additionally, Nalli stated that Porter will be modifying both the system and hospital name to more accurately fit its new presence in Northwest Indiana.

“We are very happy to announce that after much research and the input from a wide variety of constituents, it has been decided that the new system name will be officially changed from Porter, to Porter Health Care System. And, the name of the hospital will be modified from Porter, Valparaiso Hospital Campus to Porter Regional Hospital,” he said.

“We imagined a regional hospital that would offer the finest medical services, feature the most advanced technology, have all private rooms, and be housed in the most efficient, patient-friendly setting; and now it is a reality for our patients, their families and our growing community throughout Northwest Indiana.”

Nalli added that the next major step is the transition phase and that he and Porter’s transition planner, Colleen Tymensky, will be speaking to a variety of community organizations over the next several months to share the process.

“Since nearly 80 percent of the equipment is new, the actual move is expected to take less than seven hours, which is mostly dedicated to patient care and transport,” he explained. “Opening the doors to Porter Regional Hospital is our final milestone and will be a once-in-a-lifetime event for many of us.”

Currently, Porter has two hospital campuses and seven outpatient facilities serving Porter, Lake, LaPorte, Starke and Jasper counties.

Posted 1/26/2012