The new Kishwaukee Community Hospital, 1 Kish Hospital Drive, celebrated its debut with the arrival of patients and newborns.

Early Tuesday morning, patients were transported from the old hospital to the new one by ambulances assisted by emergency medical technicians.

The new emergency department started accepting patients at 7 a.m. Tuesday. The ER at the existing hospital will remain effective until all patients admitted before 7 a.m. are treated and released.

The operating rooms and clinical lab, as well as other important support systems, will remain operational at both hospitals until all patients have been successfully moved to the new hospital.

Technology and services of the new hospital include an inpatient physical therapy gym, inpatient dialysis, all private rooms, a private discharge area, wireless connection throughout the building and a 200-seat conference center.

Sharon Emanuelson, director of marketing and public relations, said everything ran smoothly for the first day.

“Everything was up and running effectively,” Emanuelson said. “We had a full ER up and running in the afternoon. Over 40 patients were safely moved from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. All in all, it was a very successful move.”

The hospital also celebrated two births during the transition.

Cheyanne Lynn Palmer, born at 12:50 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 2, to parents Amanda and Anthony Palmer, was the last baby to be born at the former hospital.

The first new baby of the new Kishwaukee Community Hospital, Eileen Zheng, was born 8:47 a.m. Tuesday morning to parents Min Fang Jiang and Xlu Ziang Zheng.

“Both babies and parents received a gift basket of items from local merchants and the KCH Green Leaf Gift Shop,” Emanuelson said.

The old hospital, now called the KishHealth Resource Center, will be used for the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) System offices until next Wednesday. The EMS System, which oversees ambulance services, will be later moved to the Murphy Education Center after the tenth.

How the old building will be used is still being taken into consideration.