(Spirit Lake)– The way has been cleared for construction to get underway on what will be the first of a five phase master facility project at Lakes Regional Healthcare.
The hospital’s board of trustees earlier this week awarded bids on the 1.7 million dollar project, which will provide new space for rehabilitation services, moving them to the southeast side of the hospital, with the facility’s education center, which is currently housed there, moving to the basement. In addition, LRH President and CEO Jason Harrington says a new clinic will be constructed for Northwest Iowa Bone, Joint and Sports Surgeons.
Harrington says construction is to get underway May 15th with completion no later than September 1st of this year. The general contractor will be the Joseph Company of Austin, Minnesota; the electrical contract was awarded to Mueske Electric of Spirit Lake and the plumbing was awarded to Midwest Mechanical of Spirit Lake and Spencer.
Harrington says they were very pleased with how the bids came in, saying they were some $10,000 to $15,000 below estimates.
Harrington says hospital officials are very excited now that the first of the five phase plan is about to get off the drawing board, adding it’s something they’ve been working on for nearly a year now.
Funding for the first phase will come from the hospital’s existing cash reserves. Harrington says the other phases will be carried out as finances allow.
The second phase involves relocating inpatient and surgical services to the hospital’s east side, with the critical care unit moving to the second floor of the hospital’s south wing and surgery and obstetric services and patient registration moving to the hospital’s northeast corner.
The third phase involves moving outpatient services to the hospital’s west side; phase four includes relocating the Emergency Department to the north side of the hospital; and phase five includes construction of a new two-story medical office building in the old Emergency Department’s location.
