from vision to reality

By Rod Haxton, editor

Earth work
begins on
SC Hospital

With large earth moving equipment waiting in the background, the first spades of dirt were turned Monday morning at the site of the new Scott County Hospital.
Approximately 60 people were in attendance at an open house earlier in the morning and many of those then traveled to the 20-acre site on the southeast edge of Scott City where the new hospital is scheduled to open its doors in May 2012.
“Thanks to all who made this vision a reality and to all who realized the value of this project to the future of Scott City,” said SCH Administrator Mark Burnett during a gathering at the hospital’s east campus. “This is the kind of project that will keep Scott City the vibrant community that it is.”
Dr. Daniel Dunn followed with a video presentation that highlighted the progress of hospital and clinic growth in the community, along with many of the doctors and support staff who have served Scott City.
Dr. Dunn, who has been on the hospital staff since 1979, is among three physicians currently working at the Scott City Medical Clinic and who will take up residence in the new hospital upon completion.
Dirt work, which was awarded to Sporer Construction, Oakley, is the first of four phases in which bids will be released. Nabholz Construction, Rogers, Ark., has recently bid out the pre-cast package which will be the structural shell of the hospital.
This will be followed by the structural steel and building foundation concrete in September. The final phase, to be bid in October, will be the balance of the project - mechanical, electrical and interior finish systems.
“We feel that once we’re started we can continue moving along with these bid packages without any delays,” according to Kent Doughty, senior project manager.
During the next 60-90 days there will be massive earth grading along with installation of underground utilities, some road improvements and construction of the building pad. Work on the building foundations will take place during October and November.
“We won’t do any slabs, but we’ll do the foundations to support the pre-cast,” explains Doughty. “We hope to start standing the pre-cast in December.”

Bids Within Estimate
While it’s too early to know how construction costs will trend, Doughty says the earth work was under the engineer’s estimate while the bid for pre-cast work was right on the estimated mark.
He has seen no indication that the project, as designed, will exceed the $24 million bond issue. Neither does he anticipate significant savings at this time, though the tough economy has helped to bring down construction costs over the past year.
“We’ll wait until the entire project is bid out. If there are savings and we’re substantially under our estimates then we can get with the design firm and see if there are things the (hospital) administration would like to add to the project,” Doughty says.
While referring to the hospital’s design as “contemporary,” architect Bruce Jones feels that the end result will be anything but typical.
“The hospital administration and staff were pretty adamant they wanted something that is different; something that will be inviting to patients,” says Jones, who is a senior project manager with Health Facilities Group. “This will have some ‘wow’ to it.”
He said the project will represent a good balance of elements that have the “wow factor” and other areas where it is “a little more conservative.”
The main entrance to the building will be “large and open.” The interior will have a number of curved walls to avoid the tunnel effect that can happen with long corridors.
The hospital will also be laid out in a manner which will easily accommodate new additions as needed. In particular, it will allow for more clinic space as new physicians and support staff are employed. A wellness center could also be added, along with another operating room.

Cooperative Design
Jones says this is the first time his company has worked on a project with Nabholz and it’s been a good relationship. But he pointed to input from the local hospital staff as critical in helping the design phase come together.
“Your administration and staff have provided significant input and ideas as to what they expect in the hospital. That makes our job easier,” says Jones. “This isn’t our design. It’s the hospital staff’s design. Any time we start to head the wrong direction they let us know and that’s what we want to hear.”
The end result is a hospital that, following past history, should serve this community for another 60 years or beyond.
“This is the kind of community infrastructure that touches everyone’s life at some time or another,” adds Burnett. “We want to make sure it’s a facility that not only is very functional but something the community will be very proud of for years and years to come.”