To many people who live in and around Butler, the decision of the Butler Health System to buy the Morgan II building in Summit Township is a welcome development.

It is a logical move consistent with the hospital's decision to renovate, expand and better the existing hospital facility rather than build new at some other location.

The hospital had already announced plans to build a new $100 million acute care tower on its East Brady Street campus.

Morgan II, a three-year-old state-of-the-art structure at the intersection of Routes 422, 68 and 38, is wonderfully suited for the hospital's plans. It was designed as a medical arts building with oxygen lines installed in walls and extra-large elevators having the capacity to accommodate beds on which patients are transported.

It will pave the way for minimal disruption for many of the hospital's operations while the massive construction and renovation effort is under way. Ken DeFurio, Butler Memorial Hospital president and chief executive officer, said the hospital will have the option of moving a number of its services there while construction goes on at its main campus.

And, Morgan II, which apparently will be renamed, will become the permanent home of some outpatient hospital services for which it is suited as well as some components of the hospital operation not directly involved in patient care. According to DeFurio, the hospital's staff has developed a list of services and offices, such as administrative offices, that can be moved there.

The new tower to be built is the main component of the health system's construction-renovation initiative. The tower, which is expected to be six stories tall, carries a projected price tag of about $100 million.

According to current estimates, the overall construction-renovation-expansion project will cost about $140 million.

Meanwhile, the hospital is paying $7.53 million for Morgan II, which William Morgan, who built the building after fire destroyed his Morgan Management building along Brugh Avenue, described as "being made for the hospital."

As for the hospital, DeFurio is right in observing that Morgan II gives the hospital what DeFurio described as "opportunities we never thought possible."

Although some people might believe it would have been better if all hospital services had been situated on one site, what the health system board of trustees has decided upon nevertheless is a concept with which the community can feel comfortable.

The most important point that the community must acknowledge is that the current plan of action presumably will not jeopardize any elements of the health care that the hospital now provides.

Once all of the construction-renovation-expansion components are built and operational, the hospital's task will be to educate the community on where to look for hospital services.

Having gone through several years of public concern and controversy over the future and direction of the hospital, the community should feel a sense of relief that the health system now is moving ahead in a way that not only is centered on giving the Butler area the best health care possible, but also in a way that will not endanger the hospital from a fiscal standpoint.

The fiscal health of the hospital was among the chief areas of public uneasiness over the plan of former hospital president and CEO Joseph Stewart to abandon the East Brady Street facility in favor of all-new construction. In addition, concern centered on what current services the hospital might have to eliminate under Stewart's proposal, which was viewed by many people as too expensive for the community to finance.

It also should be comforting to the community that DeFurio remains committed to community involvement in the process under way.

"We've made a promise and we will work with the community on our growth," he said.

It would seem that the health system is poised for a wonderful era of excellence for which all of Butler County can feel grateful and confident.