New Sidney medical facility closer to reality

Sidney has a new hospital--on paper, at least.

The Sidney Regional Medical Center's Board of Directors approved architectural plans and forwarded requests for proposal to five contractors, putting a face for the first time to an idea that has been deliberated for almost five years.

Reality will have to wait until June of 2016, when SRMC's chief executive, Jason Petik, expects the new 122,000 square foot facility's doors will open.

The new structure will include a 25 bed critical access facility, a fixed MRI, upgraded diagnostic equipment, an expanded emergency room, new clinic space and an all-weather helicopter pad. SRMC is adding three new physicians in advance of its completion. One arrives next month. Two more have signed on for next year.

More importantly, Petik said, the new site "will be much more patient friendly."

The current hospital was completed in 1953. Several additions over the years created a labyrinthian complex that often sends patients, providers and guests around multiple corners or down long hallways.

"It fit the needs of that time," Petik noted.

Both the community and the delivery of health care have changed dramatically since 1953. SRMC now employs 340 professionals working three shifts, with four doctors and two physician's assistants on staff, as well as a team of visiting specialists.

"Sidney as a whole is very progressive," Petik said. "With the expansion of the community and the expansion of our services, we just don't have the space. We have a vision of becoming a regional medical facility."

SRMC expects to interview construction contractors at the end of this month and approve a bid by late August. The timeline calls for design approval through April of 2014, with the official groundbreaking tentatively scheduled for May of that year.

Project One, a management firm out of Colorado, will oversee the process through construction.

Completion also depends upon the city's extension of Toledo St. to the east of Ft. Sidney Rd. and improvements to Greenwood Rd. The new facility will occupy a plot of land at the future intersection of Toledo and Greenwood.

Construction on the Toledo St. extension is slated to begin next year. The right of way has already been established.

"All the pieces of the puzzle can fall together," said Sidney City Manager Gary Person.

In addition to the road project and new hospital, a housing development is planned for that section of town. And Lodgepole Creek meanders through, as well, necessitating a bridge--as well as knowledge of storm drainage patterns. Engineers working with the roads, housing and the Natural Resources District must communicate on a regular basis.

The multimillion dollar project--SRMC officials are not releasing numbers until after the bidding process--is being funded by loans from the federal government and a private bank, with the hospital contributing the remainder.

"No one's property tax is going up," Petik pointed out.

Once SRMC moves to the new facility, space will open in the old--although the nursing home and hospice operations will remain.

"They've tried to do their due diligence in getting word out there," Person said of the hospital board and the soon-to-be-abandoned building. "We're willing to help in any way we can."