Construction is currently underway on a new and improved pharmacy at Mercy Health – Urbana Hospital. The current pharmacy space will move from a smaller hallway space near the emergency room to a full-scale, state-of-the-art operation located inside the previous McAuley Senior Living Center.
The expanded pharmacy is the first phase in support of major plans to increase oncology access for the Urbana community later in 2024. Those plans include infusion services including six infusion chairs and a private infusion suite as well as a medical oncology practice featuring four exam rooms.
“It is extremely exciting to see progress happening in the McAuley space and know we are taking necessary steps to fill a major gap in our community to offer cancer care close to home for our residents of Champaign County,” said Jamie Houseman, president of Mercy Health – Urbana Hospital.
The new pharmacy will include United States Pharmacopeia (USP)-compliant clean rooms that are required to bring oncology services to the Urbana campus. These rooms will enable the pharmacy to prepare compounds in advance of a need, which reduce the burden on nursing staff to compound medications at the bedside.
“It all adds up to a great service enhancement for our patients and associates,” said Josh Walker, PharmD, MHA, director of pharmacy for the Mercy Health – Springfield market. “This advance compounding will improve patient safety and nurse efficiency. The additional space will also allow the pharmacy to organize, prepare and plan for the challenges we are facing in health care today, such as medication shortages.”
Construction on the new pharmacy space is expected to be complete later this year. In the meantime, the pharmacy will remain open in its current space near the emergency room.