SYLACAUGA — The reality of a new hospital is starting to sink in for the community as work has begun on the site of the $28 million health care facility.Ground was broken Sept. 27 for the new hospital. "This is one of the most exciting and hopeful days in the history of Coosa Valley Medical Center," Glenn Sisk, chief executive officer for CVMC, said the day of the groundbreaking.
The first phase of the project is relocating the ambulance entrance to the emergency room. That is expected to be completed by the third week in January. It will be moved to the north side of the building.
Meanwhile, construction workers have been removing unusable materials and are putting back usable materials in preparation for laying the foundation and putting in the footings to start the building. The foundation and footings will be done around the first of the year.
Sisk said every two weeks hospital officials, architects and construction managers are meeting to review where the construction is.
"We are on schedule. We have gone ahead and pre-ordered much of the steel to be used in building the health care facility," he said.
Currently, a major portion of the planning is centered on preparation for the food service area, he said.
The hospital is using Bresco Company for drawing up the food service area. It will include the traditional cafeteria, a grill for sandwiches, which will be freshly prepared, and a small Italian area focusing on pizza.
This food area is not only for visitors and employees of the hospital, but also for the community, Sisk said.
"This is taking a little time for us, since it is a new concept to the hospital," he said.
Also, the hospital is preparing for an upgraded imaging department, while some of this equipment will be relocated to the new "west wing," which is what the new health care facility is called.
"We are installing a 64-slice CT after the first of the year. CT renovations are under way. The new CT should be installed around Jan. 20. We will have a mobile unit in place for CAT scans," Sisk said.
He said there are between five and six of these 64-slice CT scans in the state and this is one of the first for a rural hospital in Alabama. He said the scan time is measured in seconds instead of minutes and doctors can diagnose and interpret the results much quicker.
Also on the horizon for the hospital is new cardiac imaging equipment that will raise the bar for cardiac treatment locally, Sisk said.
Charles Woosley, CVMC vice president, said the building program is in two phases, with the relocating of the ambulance entrance and site work under way.
"Once the site work is completed, the foundation will be poured, the footings set and concrete walls erected, along with elevator towers. Steel erection should begin in March. In the next 90 days there will be some major activities," Woosley said.
He said construction workers were hoping to get much of the back filling on the site completed Wednesday because of the overnight rain.
The tentative completion date for the hospital is March 2007.
The new, four-story medical facility will be approximately 120,000 square feet, with more than 80 inpatient rooms. The majority of these rooms will be private, with more than 14-foot-high ceilings. The hospital will also include a medical/surgery area, pre- and post-surgery, an imaging center, loading docks, ambulance entrance and materials management area.
Added features of the hospital are a women’s center and expanded ICU.
The hospital’s architectural firm is Birchfield, Penuel and Associates, while the general contractor is Hoar Construction.
Vanessa Green, CVMC vice president, said the attitude in the community about the new hospital is enthusiastic.
"Leadership Sylacauga was here last week. They spoke of how the new hospital is moving Sylacauga to a new level in health care. Everyone is excited. We’re still trying to get the word out about our new hospital and are open to talking to groups in the area. This is a community effort," Green said.
Sisk said the response from employees and medical staff has been positive.
"The energy level is high among our staff. I think everyone will get more excited as they see the construction start to take shape. This hospital is going to take health care to a new level," he said.
Sisk said the hospital will continue to provide outstanding service to patients as the new facility is built. He said the facility will have creature comforts not found in the 60-year-old hospital.
"There are some other exciting things ahead here. We just opened a new sleep disorder clinic. There are other new things to bring to the community. We want to keep people close to home for health care treatment," Sisk said.
The hospital is the largest employer in the city, with about 580 employees, more than 40 active medical staff members and 60 auxiliary members.
