New hospital building updates presented at Community Forum, groundbreaking Spring 2020
Chelan, WA – Over 100 community members attended a Lake Chelan Community Hospital District Forum May 8, where Board Commissioners reported on Board committee work and the status of the new hospital building project. Live-stream video of the Forum by LakeChelanNow.com was viewed over 1,500 times and is available on their Facebook page.
Board members gave short reports on each of the Board’s five committees, followed by question and answer sessions. Committees included Community, Quality, Finance, Affiliations and Partnerships, and Facilities.
Near the end of the Forum, Commissioner Mary Signorelli reported on Hospital District facilities, including the new building project. Hospital District residents voted in April 2017 to approve a bond to help fund construction of a hospital facility on hospital-owned property at Chelan Apple Blossom Center, near Wal-Mart, across from the Columbia Valley Community Health Clinic.
Signorelli discussed an updated timeline from Bouten Construction, general contractors. Within the new timeline, anticipated groundbreaking will be Spring 2020, with project completion projected for Fall of 2021.
Increased construction costs have necessitated downsizing the new hospital building from what was envisioned two years ago, explained Signorelli, who said the Board is determined to stay within the $44.5 million budget they presented to voters. In order not to exceed that amount, the square footage has been scaled down from the 77,000 square foot proposed in 2017 to approximately 54,000.
The Board recently approved the hospital building’s space program for the reduced square footage, and architects are now working with hospital staff to move forward with the schematic design phase.
The new building will have 21 private inpatient beds instead of 25 (private and semi-private) in the current hospital. The 21 beds will include nine medical/surgical/OB beds and 10 Sanctuary (addiction recovery unit) beds, and two conversion beds that can be used for either service. There will also be two oversized Operating Rooms suites and a procedure room, along with two observation beds. The Emergency Department, which will be larger than what is in the current building, will have seven rooms as well as space for triage.
The Business Office, Emergency Medical Services and Clinic are not included in the square footage of the new hospital building, but the LCCHC Board and Administration are exploring options for bringing those services to the Apple Blossom campus as soon as possible, said Signorelli.
The new hospital building will provide sufficient services and capacity for the next five plus years, with growth areas to be pre-designed for expansion when needed, said Steve Patonai, CEO.