July 1, 2017 | Allen Van Driel, CEO
The warmer weather we’ve had recently, couples with drier conditions, have spurred progress on the new hospital building. Almost on a daily basis I hear people talking about the visible progress as they drive by on the highway. I also get a lot of questions about exactly what parts of the building are visible as the structure takes shape. As I did last month, I’m including an aerial photo taken by Doug Armknecht using his drone to “fly” over the project this past weekend. There is video footage posted on our Facebook page as well. Many thanks to Doug for using his talents to help us keep the public updated on the project.
The photo above was taken from the northwest side of the building. In the foreground is the portion of the building that will house mechanical rooms, maintenance, housekeeping, and the storeroom. This portion was the first part erected. The walls are obviously up, and the roof is nearly complete as well. To the east of that portion of the building, structural steel is visible with the crane placing more steel. The portion of the building where the crane is working will be the surgery area. To the east of the crane is the portion that will house the inpatient beds and the Emergency Department. Towards the upper right in the picture, the walls of the conference rooms that will be located near the front entrance to the hospital are visible. This area of the building is a hardened storm shelter, which is why it went in place early, as it is a thick concrete structure. As the structure continues to grow to the south, the ancillary services area (lab, imaging and rehabilitation) will appear, followed by the outpatient clinic and, on the south end of the structure, the Family Practice Clinic.
The project remains on schedule as planned. Recently the contact was awarded for the low voltage systems in the building. These include computer systems and cabling, telephone system, security (including an infant security system now required in facilities providing OB services), and the nurse call system. After the award of this portion of the project, we met with the subcontractor to begin planning. Even thought the framework of the building is just going up, we are pushing hard to finalize details of the low voltage system so that the subcontractor can have things in place and not hold up other work on the building. Sometimes even those of us closely involved with the project are amazed at how quickly the planning and coordination between subcontractors must occur to keep the overall project moving smoothly. And so far it is moving very smoothly. We have a long way to go, and will keep you posted on progress, but we are very pleased to date with the progress, schedule, and adherence to budget.
At this point, we would even be happy for the farmers if we got a little rain. Wouldn’t hurt the project much at this point, although it gets pretty muddy with even just a little rain. Once again, as I did last month, I want to ask the public’s cooperation in staying out of the building site. There are between 50 and 75 workers on site every day now, along with lots of trucks and equipment. And there are a lot of safety hazards that could injure anyone venturing into the site. Please stay out of the area until we are ready to show it off when it’s closer to completion.
Stay safe over the Fourth of July holiday!