Work continues at PMH

An artist's drawing of Perry Memorial Hospital's new look. (Artwork contributed)

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PRINCETON — Construction work continues in the modernization and renovation project at Perry Memorial Hospital in Princeton.

PMH CEO Rex Conger said Phase 3 has been underway for about two months and is about 10 percent completed. Phase 3 of the Master Plan Facility Plan will include a complete facelift for public places on the ground and first floors, a new main entrance and lobby area, and new ventilation and sprinkling systems. The project is estimated to cost $3.5 million.

Conger said the outdoor construction site, visible at the main hospital entrance, has essentially been completed and includes creating a one-story expansion to the building for housing the new air handling system. Work on that addition probably won’t be finished until next spring.

By the end of next week, the main entrance, main lobby and gift shop are expected to be closed to the public, Conger said. The business office will temporarily be relocated in the outpatient area. The plan is to renovate the current business office and create a new gift shop, main entrance and lobby. That work is expected to continue through February.

The thing that makes a renovation project  like PMH’s go slowly is the fact that the space being renovated is occupied, Conger said. By closing the main entrance, lobby, gift shop and business office, the construction work will be sped up by about three months. Initially estimated to take about 18 months to complete, Phase 3 could be completed in the fall of 2009, he said. 

Phase 3 is part of a multi-phase project and facility plan that is a necessary effort to help make sure Perry Memorial will thrive and last into the future, Conger said.

Phase 1, started in 2006, created new emergency and outpatient departments. Phase 2 focused on the ambulatory and surgical areas. Phase 1 cost about $7 million; Phase 2, $1.3 million.

“Phase 3 is a continuation of the facelift that started in the emergency department and will continue through the first floor of the hospital,” Conger said. “The requirement of replacing the air handling system and duct work and upgrading the sprinkling system means there is a lot of necessary ceiling work, making this the logical time for the facelift.”

Coming behind Phase 3 are Phase 4 and Phase 5, Conger said. Phase 4 will be a renovation of the second floor; Phase 5 will be a renovation of the third floor. The goal is to modernize the hospital patient rooms, offices and departments to make the hospital as conducive to comfort and convenience as if a person was entering a new hospital, he said.

As far as the cost of Phases 4 and 5, Conger said it’s too hard to set numbers at this early stage and with the current economy. The first three phases have been paid through money raised by the PMH Foundation and through existing hospital funds. The PMH Board could have to look at creating other financing revenues with Phases 4 and 5, he said.

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