The Stafford Board of Supervisors got an early look at the new Stafford hospital
Date published: 7/23/2008
BY JIM HALL
Members of the Stafford Board of Supervisors marched through the new Stafford Hospital Center yesterday afternoon.
From floor to floor they toured the five-story building, past piles of lumber, beneath exposed ductwork and down corridors of new drywall.
The supervisors got an early look at the building that could bring great change to the county and its U.S. 1 corridor near the courthouse.
As Mark Dudenhefer, who represents the Garrisonville District, said, "I can't think of a single thing that will impact the quality of life for more people in Stafford than this hospital."
The supervisors were last on the construction site in August 2007 for the "topping-off" ceremony, when the last piece of structural steel was swung into place.
Since then, the building has been "buttoning-up pretty good," said Allen Bryan, director of construction. Officials of MediCorp Health System, the parent company, wanted the board to see the progress.
All of the building trades are still on the site, more than 250 workers. Construction is ahead of schedule, with an opening now scheduled for the first quarter of 2009.
On the exterior, curb, gutter and sidewalk are visible, and a base coat of asphalt has been laid in the parking lots. Exterior lighting is being installed, and topsoil is being spread.
Inside, the first of the imaging equipment will be installed in September.
Board members saw what will be the interventional radiology section, the mother-baby unit and the emergency department.
They saw a wall that will be removed so an MRI machine can be installed.
And they paused in an operating room where cesarean deliveries will be done.
"Right now we have 14 people in here, and look how much room is left," said Walt Kiwall, MediCorp's executive vice president and chief operating officer. "You can imagine the operating room table there and all the lights. There is nothing we can see in the future that one of these rooms couldn't handle."
Board members also stood in the lobby where the coffee bar will be and saw the future cafeteria and the basement pharmacy that will be as big as the one at Mary Washington Hospital.
All of the patient rooms will be private, they were told, and all will have wireless Internet capability.
Kiwall also told the supervisors that Cathleen Yablonski, a hospital administrator from Buffalo, has been hired to lead the new Stafford hospital. She will begin work in August and lead a work force of 350.
who is cutting corners??(posted by
USA2007
, July 23, 2008 2:58 pm)
Could it be that the trades are able to stay on this job because construction is slow in other places, and the contractors are not working on more than one job at a time as they sometimes do when they are busy? Just asking.
hmmm cutting corners?(posted by
Sometimes
, July 23, 2008 12:00 pm)
Builders of today cutting corners, worried about safety?? Shoot, they dont care, they dont have to live there. Not much built these days is built with pride or built to last.
In a Hurry(posted by
KIT
, July 23, 2008 11:30 am)
They sure are finishing the building in a hurrry, Are you sure it is safe and they are not cutting corners just to get it built before the new hosptal in Spotsylvania is completed?
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