Officials with St. John’s Lutheran Hospital in Libby are optimistic about progress being made on the new 79,000-square-foot hospital to be completed in January 2014.
Construction began this fall and Swank Enterprises was able to complete the foundation of the building before winter weather set in. St. John’s CEO Bruce Whitfield said the project is bringing a much-needed boost to the local economy.
“The project is living up to all expectations, especially those that were expected to spark the local economy,” he said in a press release. “We are on schedule and fortunately we beat the weather and poured the foundation so that the project can continue on through the winter.”
On Dec. 17, Swank, the general contractor, announced that 55 people from the Libby area had been hired to work on the project in October and November. In addition, more than $678,000 was spent locally on wages, supplies, hotel rooms, fuel and local contractors.
The new facility will include 25 private rooms, an expanded emergency department, larger surgical suites and more recovery rooms. The hospital will be located near the current facility on Louisiana Avenue and remain close to the Libby Care Center and Northwest Community Health Center.
Although officials expect the building to be finished in January 2014, it would still take a few more months to move into the hospital and inspect the facility.
St. John’s maintenance manager Tony Rebo said with the foundation poured, workers hope to get the steel frame erected in the next few weeks. Meanwhile, water and sewer systems will start to take shape in the coming weeks.
“Plumbers are busy with underground work such as drains and cleanouts and the electricians are putting together plans for under slab work as well as power supply for the new Imaging Department,” Rebo said. “It’s all happening very quickly.”
The project got a boost in September, when the hospital received a $32 million loan from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. On Oct. 12, officials broke ground on the new hospital site.
St. John’s Lutheran Hospital also announced that it is working on installing a webcam that will be connected to www.sjlh.com so that the public can view the progress on the new hospital building.