RUMFORD – The tarred drive leading from the new construction at Rumford Hospital to the front of the 1926 entrance has been removed to make room for a new parking area for emergency vehicles.

When the new emergency department opens, there will be space for ambulances, fire department responders’ trucks and police vehicles beside the new building extension. Access to the historic entrance will be up the steps from the sidewalk.

The new main entrance will be above the emergency department. A sloped walkway from the patient parking lot to the new glassed-in lobby is under construction. It will provide easy access to the lobby, the new patient registration area and a phlebotomy office behind central registration, all located on the second floor.