July 23
Aug. 7
Aug. 7
Aug. 21
Sept. 4
Oct. 1
Oct. 13
W A T C H U S G R O W !
You can view weekly
updates and photos of the expansion, along with
everything you want to know about the new building,
at
KH.org/expansion
.
By Andrea Nagel
It may
be hard to see beyond the black fencing surrounding
the soon-to-be 100,000-square-foot hospital expansion, but
so far, construction is on track.
“We successfully hit our second milestone in the second
week of October,” Derek Miller, construction manager, said.
“Our next major milestone is expected to be complete by
February.”
The second milestone included starting the building’s steel
frame as well as starting work on the foundation. The third
milestone includes tying the new systems (such as electrical)
to the systems in the existing building.
“People will start to see a lot of plastic covering our
progress by our third milestone,” Derek said. “The plastic
will protect our new concrete and structural work from the
elements.”
Other notable completions at this point include:
◗
◗
The finishing and re-opening of Kootenai Health Way
◗
◗
Moving an emergency backup well
◗
◗
Completion of excavation and preparation work
“We are very excited to see how quickly this is coming
together,” Jeremy Evans, vice president of operations at
Kootenai Health, said. “The new building will be more family-
friendly and really suit the way we provide and practice health
care today.”
The expansion will increase the number of patient rooms
by 10 percent and add several nursing stations, allowing for
more one-on-one care.
Over half of the new building is dedicated to Kootenai’s new
Birthing Center. The new Center will be located on the first
floor and contain 10 labor and delivery rooms, 18 postpartum
rooms, two operating rooms, and a 15-bed neonatal intensive
care unit. The best part about these new rooms is that they
are all private, creating a calm and comfortable space for new
families to bond.
Making
Progress
KOO T ENA I HE A LT H ’ S E X PANS I ON
I S S TA RT I N G T O TA K E S H A P E
KH . ORG
5
CONSTRUCTION
