Thank you to everyone who joined us for our Grand Opening Preview & Dedication Ceremonies on Thursday, April 24, 2008! Many people from our community had the opportunity to see the enhanced environment of care that will be offered when the new Hospital opens on May 31st!!
We are pleased to announce that the building project is nearly complete! The new Kewanee Hospital is scheduled to open on May 31, 2008.
Photo Taken March 2008:
Photo Taken December 2007:
Photos Taken August 30, 2007:
March 1, 2007
Building Project Update
The building project is moving right along despite the uncooperative weather. Marshall Erdman & Associates (MEA) is hoping for a nice spring. The contractors continue to work diligently to enclose the building. You might have noticed that they have been working on Saturday as well to catch up. Listed below is an update to some of the pieces to the project.
Design Build Documents:
Addendum 1 to the design build documents is complete and has been sent to KH. This includes the interior finishes.
Subcontracting:
MEA is working on bids for the electrical portion of the project.
Mid America Glazing out of the Quad Cities will be completing the glass portion.
Permits:
The first step with IDPH has been completed and MEA has received the response from IDPH regarding the plans. The architects will be working with IDPH over the remainder of the project to ensure a code-compliant facility.
Off-site Utilities:
KH held a meeting with the engineers and the city officials regarding planning for water and sewer. The plan has been engineered and the bidding process has started. The plan is to work on water first followed by sewer.
Security:
The project team will be meeting with MEA to discuss overall security for the facility. We are tentatively looking at badge readers to allow access into staff only doors. The team will also review camera and alarm systems.
Nurse Call:
Nursing representatives and the project team have reviewed three options for nurse call. A decision will be made shortly on the system for the new facility.
Equipment:
We continue to work with MEA on the equipment planning for the new facility. This will be an on-going process over the next few months as we move farther along with the project. Steve Looney is coordinating this piece with the individual departments and the project team.
Interior Design:
The project team and the Interior Design Steering Committee have met with Aaron regarding the interior finishes. The group has chosen (at Aaron’s suggestion) a very nice color palette that is warm and inviting. Aaron is working on further details and will be back in the next few weeks for an update. I have attached the rendering of the admissions area to give you an idea of what it will look like. We hope to have more drawings to share in the next few weeks.
Fireplace:
The MASH (employee giving) committee chose to include a fireplace in the admissions waiting area as a welcoming element for our patients. You will see in the attachment that the fireplace is two-sided for use by both the admissions waiting area and the surgery/lab/radiology waiting area. MEA is currently working on finding an electric option for the fireplace. We want it to look real, but be cool to the touch to ensure safety.
Generator Back-Up:
In order to be more readily prepared for emergencies the Hospital has chosen to expand the generators in the new facility to accommodate the chillers in case of a power outage. What this means is that if we experience a power outage in the summer, we will still be able to run our cooling units. This is important because in order to keep our diagnostic areas operational we need to keep the equipment at a cool temperature. In addition this will also allow us to keep the inpatient unit cool, which is good for our patients. This is one of the biggest lessons learned in the wake of Katrina as well as the recent tornadoes in St. Louis; many of the hospitals and long term care facilities in those areas did not have adequate generator coverage.
Timeline:
As I mentioned above MEA is continuing work on enclosing the building. The walls are going up and they hope to begin working on roofing very soon. They will also start installing some of the windows. The floor pad for the second floor will be poured soon, weather permitting. The brick will be delivered next month and they hope to start the masonry right away. The building is still set for completion in January 2008, and we hope to begin seeing patients in the new building in late spring 2008.
Status of Current Building
We know that the community is very interested in the plans for this building. This facility will be appraised and put up for sale once we have a more definite timeline. There has been interest expressed by several different groups.
This is an exciting time for KH and the community. Many hospitals around the State are watching our project with interest because they are contemplating renovation or replacement projects. KH will be hosting a small press conference on Wednesday (2/21) to talk about our building project. Pat Schou, Executive Director for the Illinois Critical Access Hospital Network, will be here to talk about other replacement and renovation projects in Illinois. Pat will also discuss current legislative issues that are positively affecting the CAH program. Margaret will conclude the program with an update on our project.
