SCH looks ahead to August groundbreaking

With architect’s plans nearing completion, the Scott County Hospital board of directors is making tentative plans for an August groundbreaking of a new $24 million facility.
“The architect has been a little slow,” says an impatient SCH Administrator Mark Burnett. “Until the construction team has detailed drawings in hand they can’t give us a cost estimate.”
While the cost figure is uncertain, Burnett says there’s no doubt about what’s been budgeted for the project.
“We’ve made it clear to everyone that the voters have approved $24 million and no more. Though I fully expect that we’ll be spending every dime of that.”
A combination of design changes, along with contractors eager for work, may end up providing more “bang for the buck” when bids do come in. The original feasibility study of the hospital called for a 63,000 sq. ft. facility. This has since been expanded to nearly 68,000 sq. ft. while staying within the $24 million limit.
Some of the savings are a result of going with pre-cast concrete walls along the southeast side of the hospital - which will not be seen by the general public. Barnett says the material is durable, but will cost much less than original plans.
“Along the front we’ll have a lot of glass. We’re even looking at limestone,” says Barnett. “We want a facility that makes a great impression on people. When people see the hospital we want them to feel they got their money’s worth.”

Redesigning Health Care
Obviously, it’s what’s inside that counts and Barnett is confident that those providing and seeking treatment at SCH won’t be disappointed.
“We’re not just moving into a new building,” he points out. “This is a major redesign of our facilities and will be a new approach to the delivery of health care. We’re a small hospital offering the services you’d expect to find at a big hospital.”
The hospital will be divided into sections - imaging, clinic, operating rooms, acute care, emergency room and administration.
All will be isolated to provide more safety.
That also means staff will be dedicated to a section of the hospital rather than nurses splitting time between acute care and the operating rooms, for example.
“Since May, we’ve had a nurse who covers the emergency room only,” notes Barnett. “You don’t see that at many hospitals. That means better communication among staff which will lead to better patient care.”

More Acute Care
At the time the hospital was being proposed, there was general consensus among the board and staff that long-term, acute care, was not an area where they should make a major commitment of space. This type of patient care has been on the decline at rural hospitals.
However, a sharp increase in acute care over the past six months has caused the hospital staff to rethink the need for acute care. Revised plans include 20 patient beds. There will be 14 private beds, with the capability of converting private rooms to semi-private.
“There’s no way of knowing what the long-term trend is, but we feel pretty confident with the growth we’re experiencing,” Barnett says. “It made us a little nervous not planning for an increase (in acute care patients).”
Barnett has also “carved a place for a chapel in our hospital. As critical as space is, I felt this was important.”
The board and administration are also weighing the possibility of an open dining room, similar to those available to the public at larger medical centers in Hays and Wichita. He says the primary goal is to provide an added convenience for families of patients.
Since the hospital won’t have a basement, it will include a concrete, reinforced “bunker” in the heart of the building to serve as a tornado shelter.
“As we got more into this process it became evident that space was becoming an issue,” says the administrator. “In fact, with the growth we’ve seen over the last two or three years, I’m worried that we’ll be at capacity the day we move in.”
With that in mind, the hospital design includes the capability of being expanded without compromising the external aesthetics or internal efficiencies.