Times Observer file photo Warren General Hospital has updated its visitation policy as fewer cases of COVID-19 are reported locally.

Pennsylvania House Health Committee Majority Chair Rep. Kathy Rapp (R-Warren) and Sen. Scott Hutchinson (R-21) announced Friday that a $3.7 million grant from the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program has been awarded to Warren General Hospital for the modernization and expansion of the facility’s emergency room.

“As the chair of the House Health Committee, I was honored to offer my support for this extremely necessary ER expansion project that will significantly increase access to the already top-notch patient care that Warren General Hospital continues to deliver to the rural communities I represent,” Rapp said. “Securing this highly-competitive funding is another outstanding example of hospital administrators taking extraordinary steps to recruit, maintain and support our irreplaceable nurses, doctors and other essential frontline health care professionals.”

Specifically, the project will improve patient care by renovating and moving the MedSurg unit closer to the ER. The ER will also be expanded to include larger treatment spaces that are equipped to accommodate behavioral health patients and patients with airborne infectious disease. General construction includes exterior shell, roofing, walls, ceilings and roofing, mechanical, plumbing/medical gas, electrical and fire protection.