Moving past the brick-and-mortar projects and to infrastructure projects is the focus of Warner Hospital officials.

That's according to CEO Paul Skowron who on the WHOW Morning Show Wednesday told Regional Radio the emergency room renovation and the west side entrance will continue this year. In fact, he points out the west side entrance has experienced a setback in its timeline of completion.

For Skowron and his administration, this year is about moving past the things visible and onto their electronic medical records update.

Among those visible projects they hope to have completed very soon is the new storage unit going up on the east side of town between Wallace Fields and Love It Once More Thrift Store.

The grant is from the State of Illinois and Skowron points out it will become a storage space for emergency supplies.

As the physical projects conclude, the next big project is the electronic medical records project. Skowron points out this is necessary on several fronts. The current system the hospital has is outdated but it will also bring them in line with the larger hospital systems.

According to Skowron, the new electronic medical records software will also allow patients to make appointments and even get access to their own records.

Skowron indicates that effort will get started very soon and will take time to have in place.

He notes they have financially been preparing for this for a couple of years knowing this was going to eventually be necessary.