2/22/12

OUTPATIENT SERVICES ENTRANCE TO TEMPORARILY CLOSE

Beginning Feb. 27, West Park Hospital’s Outpatient Services entrance will be closed to tie the area into the new addition being built as part of the modernization project.

Patients needing to access the Outpatient Services department for procedures such as surgery, IV therapy, colonoscopies and other outpatient or surgical procedures should use the main entrance. Signs will direct patients and visitors from the main entrance to a temporary reception area in the hallway near the Apothe Café.

During the closure, the Outpatient Services entrance will be refinished with tiling and paint to match the front corridor of the new area.

Plant Operations director Tim Waldner expects the entrance to reopen around the weekend of March 10-11.

This will be the only interruption in the area until the drive-through and parking area outside the entrance are restriped this spring in anticipation of opening the new addition.

10/24/11

NEW LTCC NORTH ENTRANCE OPENS TO THE PUBLIC WEDNESDAY

The Long Term Care Center’s new north entrance opens to the public Wednesday, Oct. 26. Inside and outside signage reflecting the change will be in place by that time in order to direct the public.

Secondary access to the LTCC from Outpatient Services or the WPH main entrance will remain via the emergency department using the new connecting corridor. The LTCC South Wing is being demolished as part of the modernization project.

The north entrance features a covered drop-off space with a wind break and abundant natural light within. The LTCC administrative offices also will be relocated right inside the new entrance in the coming weeks. A water wheel fountain, which had been located in the LTCC plant room (what became the new entrance corridor) but had been long obscured, has been refurbished and remains in the space.

“We know that changing access to the facility multiple times has been confusing for our residents, staff and visitors,” LTCC Administrator Jeanne Kaiser said, “but after seeing the new space, we think people will appreciate it.”

Adjacent to the new north entrance is one of three new outdoor areas created to replace the former LTCC garden, which was moved because of the project. The resident dining room opens directly onto this new patio, which has prominent views of Heart Mountain.

6/16/11

SLIB BOARD COMMITS $1 MILLION TO MODERNIZATION PROJECT

The State Loan and Investment Board recently committed $1 million toward the West Park Hospital modernization project that will be available to the hospital in January.

“We feel this commitment shows the board understands the importance of the modernization project to West Park, Park County and the Big Horn Basin,” CEO Doug McMillan said.

McMillan and West Park Hospital District Board of Trustees Chairman Melissa Fraser presented the modernization project to the State Loan and Investment Board on June 16 in Cheyenne.

“Historically we’ve been successful in obtaining SLIB funds, and we’re thankful to see that continue,” McMillan said. “We are very appreciative of State Auditor Cynthia Cloud and the SLIB board’s support of our modernization project.”

In recent years, SLIB funding has supported the WPH outpatient services remodel project, Women’s Health Pavilion and Clinical Services project, generator upgrade and the Spirit Mountain Hospice House capital campaign. The board also awarded a $1 million grant to WPH in 2008 to begin the planning and development of the modernization project.

The $26.2 million modernization project upgrades and relocates the emergency department, lab and radiology and provides space for future relocation of patient rooms and other support services.

The project started with demolition of the Coe Medical Office Building in April after the WPH Board of Trustees in late March approved selling $33.8 million in tax-exempt municipal bonds.

For more information about the project, including weekly updates and a live, real-time webcam, visit www.westparkhospital.org and click on the link on the home page.

During its June 16 meeting, the board, which includes Gov. Matt Mead, Secretary of State Max Maxfield, Treasurer Joe Meyer, Auditor Cynthia Cloud and Superintendent of Public Instruction Cindy Hill, approved 23 applications totaling $8.5 million.

4/29/11

LTCC ACCESS CHANGING TO OUTPATIENT SERVICES ENTRANCE

Starting May 11, visitors will access the West Park Long Term Care Center through the Outpatient Services entrance of the hospital. The Outpatient Services entrance is east of the main hospital entrance and adjacent to the construction site on Sheridan Avenue.

Signage inside the building will direct visitors to the LTCC units.

The Outpatient Services entrance will be used for about two months until the new LTCC entrance is completed. Access to the LTCC from the front entrance on Stock Drive will no longer be available after May 11.

“We understand this may cause some inconvenience to our

visitors, families and residents, and we apologize for that in advance,” LTCC Administrator Jeanne Kaiser said. “But it will be worth it once the new, covered, drive-up entrance is completed on the north side of the building.”

4/18/11

MINOR CHANGES COMING TO EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT ENTRANCE, PARKING

Construction of a new patient corridor along the north side of West Park Hospital will slightly change how patients access the emergency department.

Several of the current patient parking spaces will be moved and the main entrance will move several feet to away from its current position.

The new patient parking spaces
will be clearly marked and easily accessible, as will the new entrance, but patients should anticipate a slightly different layout than what they’re familiar with.

For more information on the modernization project, including progress updates, a live webcam a project timeline and patient testimonials, visit West Park Hospital’s homepage, www.west parkhospital.org, and click on the modernization link or navigate directly to www.westparkhospital.org/modernization.

3/1/11

BOND ISSUE ALLOWS MODERNIZATION PROJECT TO MOVE FORWARD

After the voters rejected a one-cent specific-purpose tax to pay for West Park Hospital’s modernization project during the Aug. 17 primary, the West Park Hospital District Board of Trustees directed administration to look at secondary financing options.

Despite the outcome of the primary vote, the board felt that project should continue to move forward because:

• The modernization project is still needed
• The voters rejected a tax, not the project itself
• WPH is in better financial shape now than at the start of 2010
• A tax was the cheapest and preferred option of paying for the project, but never the only option
• The modernization project is the key phase of the three-phase facilities master plan

At its January regular meeting, the board decided that issuing tax-exempt municipal bonds was the best option out of several potential “Plan B’s,” including HUD, USDA, tax-exempt revenue bonds, Build America bonds and bank loans. 

That required getting underwriting and a securing a bond rating. In anticipation of a bond sale, WPH presented the modernization project and the organization to Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Rating Agency in October. The rating agencies look at indicators such as volume trends, average age of physical plant and days cash on hand to give an organization a rating. That rating affects the interest at which the bonds are sold and hence the overall cost of the project.

Because of WPH’s strong financial performance over the past year and its ongoing stability, it received a rating of “BBB stable” in February.

“A triple-B rating is very desirable for a critical-access hospital,” CEO Doug McMillan said. “Smaller hospitals face a disadvantage in the rating process due to their having smaller medical staffs. Rating agencies feel that at a smaller hospital, if one provider or frequent admitter leaves, it can significantly affect volumes and thus financial stability, whereas at a large hospital, the effect of losing a single provider is offset by a large number of other physicians.”

The bonds were sold Feb. 23, and the sale was ratified by the Board of Trustees that evening at its regular meeting, allowing site set-up and asbestos abatement at the Coe Medical Office Building to commence March 1.

Layton Construction, a company out of Salt Lake City that has an extensive background in building health-care facilities, is partnering with local firm Cowan Construction as construction manager at-risk for the project.

“We were pleased that many local contractors bid on the project and many of the local contractors’ bids have been accepted,” McMillan said. 

This modernization project began in 2006 with the development of the WPH facility master plan that was approved by the board in 2007. The first phase of the facility master plan was the completion of the Cathcart Health Center.

After completion of Phase II (the modernization project) Phase III includes renovating and updating the existing hospital building, moving patient rooms to the second floor of the new addition and relocating other clinical and key public services to more accessible locations. Phase III improvements can be separated into smaller pieces, each of which can be paid for internally as funds are available. No schedule has been set as of yet for Phase III improvements.

Many WPH employees, physicians, trustees and other experts have been involved in the design and development of the project, which includes:

• A new emergency department with private rooms and enough space to handle WPH’s current volumes
• 110,071 square feet of new and renovated space
• Relocation of laboratory and imaging departments
• Relocation of admissions to a central location
• Demolition of the vacant Coe Medical Office Building
• Creation of the infrastructure needed for future relocation of patient rooms
• Separation of public and patient corridors, providing better protection and privacy
• New main entrance to remove confusion and provide improved way-finding

“I would like express my thanks to all the staff, physicians, trustees and others that have devoted a great amount of time, energy and commitment in positioning our organization to this point in time where we can make this phase of our vision become reality,” McMillan said.

2/23/11

WEST PARK HOSPITAL TRUSTEES APPROVE BOND ISSUE

After receiving a "BBB stable" rating, which is very hig for a critical-access hospital, WPH pursued selling about $33.8 million in bonds, which would pay for the Modernization Project (Phase II of the facilities master plan) and refinance some of the Cathcart Health Center debt.

At its Feb. 23 regular meeting, the West Park Hospital District approved the bond issuance, which allows Layton/Cowan Construction to begin staging for the project almost immediately.

With the bond sale completed, a projected timeline for the modernization can be established:

Projected Modernization Project timeline

February 2011
Sale of bonds

March 2011
Set up site fencing (will affect some parking areas)
Coe building asbestos abatement
New LTCC canopy construction begins

April-June 2011
Coe building demolition
Relocate existing Gift Shop to temporary location
Site excavation
Drill elevator holes
Footings/structure

July-September 2011
New LTCC canopy/entrance finished
Structural concrete poured
Structural steel erected

December 2011
Exterior skin completed

May 2012
New emergency department complete/relocates to new addition
New radiology equipment
New laboratory
Renovation begins in kitchen

June 2012
Projected completion date

1/25/11

WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS AFTER THE AUG. 17 PRIMARY?

Because the West Park Hospital District Board of Trustees feels that:

• The Modernization Project is still needed
• The voters rejected a tax, not the project itself
• WPH is in better financial shape now than in 2010
• A specific-purpose tax was always the preferred financing option for the project, but never the only option
  
• The Modernization Project is the key phase of the three-phase facilities master plan

After the Aug. 17 primary, the board directed WPH Administration to review secondary options for financing the project, including HUD, USDA, tax-exempt revenue bonds, Build America bonds and bank loans. At its Jan. 25 regular meeting, the board approved pursuing tax exempt revenue bonds to finance the Modernization Project.

While the short payoff and shared burden of a specific-purpose tax would have provided the best bang for the buck, the board felt that the importance of patient privacy and upgrading the facility to match the high-quality standard of care provided to patients by WPH staff and providers were compelling enough reasons to go ahead with a costlier, yet reasonable, method of paying for the project.

The sale of the bonds is projected to be presented to the Board of Trustees at the Feb. 23 board meeting. West Park Hospital expects to close on the bonds the second week of March.

Layton/Cowan Construction is prepared to begin the asbestos abatement at Coe Medical Office Building and initial project staging in March upon WPH successfully procuring financing for the project. The project is expected to take 15 months to complete.