DU QUOIN (WSIL) -- Marshall Browning Hospital in Du Quoin held a groundbreaking ceremony this week for a new ER Waiting Room, thanks to a generous, anonymous donor.
The Hospital looked at the possibility of adding the new room back in 2017, but its cost was out of reach. Last year a member of the community reached out, wanting to help, and eventually wrote a check to cover nearly the entire cost.
The new addition will provide a dedicated entrance for Emergency Room patients, with construction scheduled to begin next week.
"We've been planning it for awhile and this opportunity came up by the generous donation," says Chief Executive Officer Dan Eaves. "It's going to give our ER patients and families privacy, and with that will come more comfort in not being in the middle of the lobby, in the main hospital with everybody else walking by and seeing that they have an emotional issue perhaps going on."
The donor is determined to remain anonymous, however, administrators hope others learn of the kind act and follow their example. Outside of its Auxiliary's Giving Tree, the hospital doesn't solicit donations.
The new waiting room is expected to open this June.
