(Spirit Lake)– Construction is already underway, but officials with Lakes Regional Healthcare held a public event this (Thurs.) morning unveiling plans for the $20 million construction and renovation of the hospital’s Emergency Department. LRH President CEO Jason Harrington says the project is part of a Master Facility Plan drawn up some 15 years ago…
“What grew out of that Master Facility Plan was the Birthing Center, our Surgery Center, a new Lakes Regional Family Medicine Clinic. So we decided at our 65th anniversary it’s time to dust off that 15 year plan, re-visited that. It determined needs of about $50 million and we thought it wouldn’t be financially responsible that we would take on a $50 million project, so we broke that into seven different phases. And our ability to do all of those phases, Steve, really depend on the support of the community, but we thought starting with the Emergency made the most sense.”
He says there’s one factor in particular that made that particular part of the plan a more immediate priority…
“When we built the original E.R. it was back in 1993. 30 years later, when it was originally built it was built for 6,500 visits. Today we’re seeing about 9,000 and expect that to grow. Our ambulance service since 2012, their calls have grown by 50 percent. So we recognize the need of that and so really thought that was the place that we should start.”
$7 million in funding for the Emergency Department project is coming from the hospital’s cash reserves with another $5 million being financed through debt. Harrington says they’re asking the public to help with the remaining $8 million. He those interested and wanting more information can go online…
“I would encourage people to either follow us on social media or our website which is www.lakeshealth.org. Our intention is to continue to update that as the construction goes on. There’s two videos out there about the current and future needs and what it currently looks like and what it will look like in the future, so we’re excited. That would be the best place to go look if you were looking for information.”
Harrington also encourages those with questions to contact him.
