Hospital facilities plan offers enhanced vision for future

Posted 11/13/14

The proposed plan is Davis Partnership Architects’ response to the Powell Hospital District board’s request for a concept that would meet the organization’s facility needs for 30 years. It also needed to meet current codes without building a …

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Hospital facilities plan offers enhanced vision for future

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If a goal without a plan is just a wish, then Powell Valley Healthcare is moving beyond the wishing phase by planning for its future facility needs.

In fact, some might use the term “visionary” to describe a new planning concept for renovating and expanding the hospital, medical offices and care center facilities.

The proposed plan is Davis Partnership Architects’ response to the Powell Hospital District board’s request for a concept that would meet the organization’s facility needs for 30 years. It also needed to meet current codes without building a new care center now.

The firm did not provide a detailed architectural plan for the facilities, but rather, a visualization of the firm’s proposed facilities master plan. If implemented, the envisioned facility expansions and renovations would cost an estimated total of $40 million.

Bill Patten, chief executive officer for Powell Valley Healthcare, said he expects it will be a year or two before the district board and PHVC leaders are ready to present the finalized plan for public input.

Powell Hospital District owns the all the facilities on the health care campus, which are leased and operated by Powell Valley Healthcare.

Powell Valley Healthcare needs three years of solid financial performance before the district could seriously consider financing a large facilities project or several phased projects, he said.

“I still expect it will be four to five years before we can begin” any construction, he said.

Patten said three previous concepts developed by Davis last year either fell short of or exceeded what he and the board felt should be done to update facilities and meet the board’s nine priorities while keeping the price achievable.

The priorities, ranked in order of importance, are:

• Surgery

• Emergency

• Physicians’ clinics A, B and C

• Imaging

• Inpatient units and obstetrics

• Laboratory

• First impressions

• Care Center

• The Heartland assisted living

The first concept, at about $10 million, only addressed five of nine priorities and was rejected quickly by the board. The second, estimated to cost $25 million to $30 million, met eight of the nine but did not address code issues at Powell Valley Care Center.

The third addressed all nine by adding a proposal to build a new care center, but the $50 million to $60 million price tag was too high to be seriously considered — “a bridge too far,” Patten said.

This new concept brings the price down to an estimated $40 million and could be completed in phases, also a priority for the board.

A new vision

While district trustees expected some kind of a blend of concepts two and three, what they got was a completely new vision for Powell Valley Healthcare’s future. The concept calls for demolishing medical buildings A, B and C, which now house orthopedics, obstetrics and gynecology, cardiology, visiting physicians and the ExpressCare Clinic.

In their place, an extension of the hospital would house inpatient rooms, and an entrance/mall area would join that area to the Powell Valley Clinic.  

The front of the hospital would be extended with a two-story addition, with the central part serving as a women’s wellness center, with an obstetrics unit on the first floor and OB/GYN doctors housed in offices on the second floor.

The emergency room and surgery areas would be located west of the women’s wellness center, with a helipad on top of the emergency room. The concept even includes a rooftop garden over the surgery area.

The concept also calls for an additional wing to be built onto the southeast area of Powell Valley Care Center. Several resident rooms would move into that wing, freeing spaces for small community areas in existing wings, as current health codes require. The number of beds in the care center would remain the same, Patten said, as adding beds would require authorization from the state, and current demographics would not support such a request, he said.

Administrative offices would move into the back of the hospital building, where patient rooms are now, with the mall extending lengthwise from the entrance  to the west to separate the offices and the patient-care areas.

The plan also calls for completing the basement and second floor of the Powell Valley Clinic and adding a third wing to The Heartland assisted living center.

Other buildings proposed

In addition, the concept includes three other construction projects on the west side of Grand Street across from Powell Valley Care Center, where Powell Hospital District owns additional property. Those three buildings, to be built after the more pressing projects were completed, would be an ambulance barn, a child care center and a wellness/recreation center.

Patten said the proposed rec center is envisioned as a joint project between the hospital and the Powell Recreation District. Initial discussions with the Recreation District have been positive, he added.

Patten noted that first impressions is listed seventh in the board’s list of priorities. That is appropriate, as it shouldn’t be at the top, but first impressions still are very important, he said.

While Powell Valley Healthcare provides quality care for its patients, some people’s perception of that care is influenced significantly by the appearance of the facilities. In addition, people often form a mental link between quality of care and the height of the health care facilities, he said, and that was one of the reasons for proposing a two-story addition, he said.

Patten stressed that this is not a finalized version of the facilities master planning concept, and adjustments are likely. Among other things, he has asked Davis Partnership to reassess the proposal to make sure the $40 million cost estimate is accurate, he said.

Patten said he has made several presentations to PVHC employees regarding the new concept.

“What I’ve tried to say to the employees is, ‘If you don’t have a dream, if you don’t have a vision, you’re never going to get anywhere,’” he said. “So, even if we say that this may be a little bit more than we need, let’s start with the ideal, then back down if we need to.”

A positive financial report for September has raised hopes at Powell Valley Healthcare that the worst of the organization’s financial struggles may be over.

Gross revenue at Powell Valley Healthcare in September totaled just under $5.992 million, for a net profit of $284,330, PVHC Chief Finance Officer Mike Long told the PVHC board last month.

Powell Valley Healthcare consists of Powell Valley Clinic, Powell Valley Hospital, Powell Valley Care Center, The Heartland and Powell Valley Home Health.

That is considerably better than a year ago, when the gross revenue of just under $5.132 million left a net loss of $754,311.

“September was a good month,” Long said, “but year-to-date, we’re still at a loss.”

The organization still is about $7,000 below budget for the fiscal year, which started July 1, he said.

But that’s a far cry from the $2.419 million loss year-to-date on Sept. 30, 2013.

“It’s $2,220,000 better than last year,” Long said.

He credited the improvement to tighter budgeting, an increase of patient volumes at the clinic and reduced expenses.

PVHC Chief Executive Officer Bill Patten told the board that PVHC employees took a total of 3,415 hours of voluntary time off from May through August with their supervisors’ approval, saving Powell Valley Healthcare a total of $113,643.

Board members recognized the employees’ willingness to sacrifice and said they planned to send notes of appreciation to everyone who voluntarily took time off without pay.

Patten said Powell Valley Healthcare needs three years of solid financial performance before it can begin putting plans in motion for facility upgrades.

— Ilene Olson

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