Construction teams continue to push for an Oct. 1 finish date for the new Allen County Regional Hospital, hospital trustees learned Tuesday night. NEW EQUIPMENT and furnishings have run up a bill of about $1.2 million, Baker said. “We’re starting to spend quite a bit of money.”
“A huge amount of activity,” is going on to make that goal, said Ron Baker, chief executive officer of the hospital. “Nothing at this point leads us to believe they won’t be done by Oct. 1.”
A series of open houses are scheduled for Oct. 16-18, with the official ribbon cutting on Oct. 18.
The hospital will be open for business the first of November.
Correcting the poorly installed flatstone on a portion of the building’s exterior is in the works, Baker said. Contractors are waiting for a 20-year warranty on the new stone to be approved. Once confirmed, “We’re good to go,” Baker said, to install the new stone. Thursday, workers will receive a demonstration on how to apply the stone. An early application resulted in the stone falling away from the adhesive glue. The old flatstone will be removed and replaced in sections, Baker said.
Baker is expecting the need for local crews to help move hospital equipment to the new site. The firm Allied has been hired to handle the transfer and has asked for about a dozen temporary workers to help over the course of two to three weeks, Baker said. As of yet, he does not know when people may apply for the jobs.
Dielbolt Lumber of LaHarpe was awarded the contract to provide materials needed for a maintenance barn to the east of the new hospital. Construction of the pole barn type structure will begin next week.
“It’s essentially a shell with electrical circuits and relatively inexpensive,” Baker said.
Advantage Computers of Iola will provide the information technology support for the new hospital, Baker said.
Other local contracts include Flynn Appliance, which will outfit patient rooms with TVs, and Terri’s Flowers of Humboldt, which has been hired to decorate the hospital.
As for going from a paper-based to an Internet-based system for hospital records, that will occur in early December, Baker said. The hospital has contracted Cerner for its new medical records system. At the outset of relocating to the new hospital all of its paper charts will need to be moved, but eventually will be put in storage.
Purchases include, furniture for about $268,000; a call system, $189,000; patient beds, $107,000; birthing beds, $24,000, and monitoring equipment for various areas in the neighborhood of $150,000.
Specialists who routinely work at the current Medical Arts Building have expressed concern as to where they will practice once the new hospital is completed, Baker said.
“We need to get serious about talking with investors about building a new medical arts building,” Baker said. “It’s pretty obvious that if we’re going to have a vibrant specialty clinic we’re going to have to provide some sort of arrangement, perhaps a time share, at the new site,” not specifying what area of the new hospital would be available for temporary quarters.
It had been thought specialists would remain at the current medical arts building until a new facility was built on the new hospital grounds.
Hospital site abuzz for opening
