We Know We’re Getting Closer When…

June 1, 2018 | Allen Van Driel, CEO

For well over a year now, construction has been underway on the new Smith County Memorial Hospital and Family Practice. Milestones have been reached and recorded along the way, each as exciting as the last. Video and photographs of the building, inside and out, have shown progress and each time we publish new footage, we get the “WOW!” response.

Plans for the grand opening ceremony of the new facility and the official transition date of hospital operations are now finalized. There are still hundreds, if not thousands, of details to be completed, but each day brings us closer. Landscaping, including planting of trees, shrubs, and grass began a couple of weeks ago. Inside the building, flooring is nearly complete, touch-up painting is ongoing and window coverings are being installed. The new CT scanner and digital X-Ray equipment have been installed. The computer servers will be installed this week, which will allow the beginning of installation of many new systems, including telephone, nurse call, infant security, security cameras and access controls, fire alarms and cardiac monitoring equipment. All of that will take several weeks to install and test.

Both Hutton and Health Facilities Group are completing punch lists and identifying items that have been overlooked or need correcting. Commissioning (start-up) of all heating, cooling, and other mechanical systems has begun and will continue for some time. Engineers will be on site for system inspection, followed by the State Fire Marshal, who will determine when the building is safe to occupy. Already some of the large storage containers that various subcontractors had placed on the site have been removed, with others to follow.

A very big milestone will be the construction of the entrance from Highway 36. Work was scheduled to begin on the entrance last week, but was delayed because of the very welcome rain. Now we anticipate the highway project to begin the first week in June and to be completed by the end of July. The highway will be widened to allow for construction of turning lanes for both eastbound and westbound traffic from the highway into the hospital grounds. This construction will create some minor changes to traffic flow on the highway while construction is underway, but hopefully the inconvenience will be minimal. Once the highway work and entrance driveway are completed, the shoulders of the highway, extending on the south side down into the hospital property will be seeded with cover to control erosion. Final seeding with natural grasses will occur later in the year, when they are most likely to grow well without a lot of additional effort from us.

And finally, Hutton crews spent all of this past weekend removing the memorial tablets from the north end of the original hospital building and moving them to the new site, where they will be installed in front of the hospital. This carries on the tradition established in the late 1940s when plans were made for the existing Smith County Memorial Hospital. We feel that this tradition is important to maintain. Judging by the number of times I have been asked about this topic by members of the public, it is also important to you as well. We’re very pleased that Hutton was able to remove and relocate the stone tablets.

More details will be released in the coming weeks, but please “Save the Date” for our grand opening ceremony on August 5. We know you’ll be as pleased and impressed with the new facility as we are. Until then, please continue to maintain a safe distance from the construction site as we work to relocate to the new facility. Every day brings us closer and the staff of SCMH are just as excited (or more so) as you are!