Aurora gets OK from village to start project

Plans are quickly moving forward for an expansion project at the Aurora Medical Center in Grafton to meet the growing needs of patients.

On Monday, the Village Board unanimously approved an amendment to the zoning of the planned-unit development.  

The plans call for an 8,343-square-foot addition that includes 16 patient beds for an observation unit.

The addition —which will also have a staff lounge, bathrooms and electrical and mechanical areas — will be connected to the west side of the existing northwest in-patient tower.

“This expansion will allow us to increase our capacity quickly and underscores our commitment to environmental stewardship,” Aurora Medical Center in Grafton President Michelle Blakely said. “We are grateful to the Village of Grafton Board for approving this expansion so we can increase our ability to provide safe, high-quality, compassionate care to help our community live well.”

The hospital intends to add 24 team members as a result of the expansion. Construction activities on-site are scheduled to begin in April and the new unit will open this summer.

Grafton Community Development Director Jessica Wolff said the expansion is expected to proceed quickly because the hospital has capacity issues in its emergency-room department.

Officials said the medical center plans to begin construction in spring if approvals are received as expected.

Wolff said plans call for the addition to be built with pre-fabricated modules that have pre-built rooms and blocks with electrical and heating systems in place.

“They plan to move forward fairly quickly due, in part, to the nature of the addition because it is going to be a modular construction rather than a stick-built (addition),” she said.

“It’s a much more energy-efficient way to do construction, especially on small projects like this.”