Pat Pezzelle, Co-Chair Lora Ercanbrack, Co-Chair Steve Becker, M.D. David Boulware Paul Bunn Paula Darko-Hensler Karilyn Duarte Bobbie Nelson Tony Rebo Gary Spencer Ted Werner Bill Patten, CEO KC Hoyer, Executive Director Kate Stephens, Assistant
The Capital Campaign Committee (CCC) has been delegated the responsibility for implementing the fundraising and communication activities for the new hospital capital campaign. The goal of the campaign is to raise $1,500,000 for the brand new St. John's Lutheran Hospital!
Senator Tester visits St. John's Lutheran Hospital Operating Rooms.
On Saturday the 18th, Senator Jon Tester stopped by for a quick visit to St. John’s Lutheran Hospital; it was the first time he had toured the facility. "I found it an interesting paradox giving a tour of the facility in which I have such pride while actively talking about the problems we face with space and infrastructure," noted Bill Patten, CEO at St. John’s. After he completed the tour, Senator Tester met with the Trustees of St. John’s, as well as local physicians and hospital staff. In his discussion, Senator Tester made two important points concerning the new hospital project. (1) He said he does not question the Board’s decision to build a new facility versus renovating or adding a wing, and (2) he said that he would fight to find ways to get us the funds we need. "Keep in mind that we didn’t receive any promise or guarantee – but a positive step forward is the only way to look at this visit," added Patten. Patten spent the week of April 27th in Washington DC lobbying for the new hospital project. He met with representatives from Senator Baucus’ and Tester’s offices and from Representative Rehberg’s office, as well as Representative Rehberg himself. Patten said that all three meetings were successful, and that he left Washington knowing that the efforts for the new hospital in Libby will be given serious consideration. The two senators won’t have their appropriation requests finalized for several more weeks; however, Representative Rehberg has submitted a request for $20,000,000 for the new hospital, although he noted that actually receiving such a large appropriation would be unlikely. According to Patten, the funding for the new hospital is moving forward. "Even while we are doing all of this lobbying, we continue to look at our options to borrow all or part of the money, aside from the hospital Foundation’s fundraising goal of $1,500,000. Along the way, we are also looking at HUD 242, USDA, Montana Facility Finance Authority, and others," said Patten. "We are taking a conservative approach to funding this project. Our trustees have a strong sense of fiscal responsibility to our hospital and to our community. We are taking our time because our priority is to select the most appropriate funding sources--those that will keep our hospital financially solvent. We have to be diligent about the course we take because we aren’t just building for today, we are building for the future of healthcare in our area."
NEW HOSPTIAL PROJECT GETS A "SHOT" IN THE ARM FROM HOSPITAL EMPLOYEES
Employees at St. John’s Lutheran Hospital are making a statement in support of the new hospital building project through payroll contributions that will total nearly $200,000.00. According to KC Hoyer, Executive Director of the Foundation at St. John’s, 80% of the hospital staff have signed up through payroll deduction. "I might be a little biased, but we have the most supportive employees in the state," commented Hoyer. "Our employees’ support goes far beyond monetary donations. They help with every aspect of our fundraising. They attend events, they promote activities, and many of them are always there to help with set-up and clean up; we have an outstanding staff. Their commitment to this project doesn’t just speak support, it screams it!" The St. John’s employee campaign began in October of 2009 and will run for three years. The Foundation at St. John’s is looking to raise $1.5 million dollars over the next few years to help with the over-all project. "Our first step was to get the employees on board," said Hoyer. "After all, how can we ask our communities to help us meet our fundraising goal if we don’t show that we support the project ourselves? Now that we have a successful staff campaign, we are working toward establishing a Capital Campaign Committee to assist us with community support. Given the severity of the need, and the fact that we all know how necessary it is to continue to provide quality healthcare in our remote area, I feel very confident that our communities will enthusiastically support our efforts, even in challenging economic times." Hoyer added that this project is an economic stimulator in and of itself. The construction phase alone should add some 100 jobs, not to mention the purchase of supplies and materials. "It will be the economic shot in the arm our communities could use right about now". "The million dollar question of the day is when will we break ground on the new hospital," commented Bill Patten CEO at St. John’s. "That depends on which one of the funding sources we are pursuing becomes available. Our break ground date could be as soon as July 2009, or we may have to wait until spring of 2010; it will all depend on which funding is approved. Once we break ground we are looking at an 18 month construction timeline." Patten reflected on the commitment the hospital employees have made to this project. "Our employees already give of themselves in many ways that are not very obvious to the public. Healthcare is a demanding, 24-hour a day, 365-day per year profession. Our customers don’t want to be sick, they don’t want to be in the hospital, and the services they receive are expensive. So why would anyone be happy about being in a hospital? In spite of the many challenges we face, our employees are cheerful and supportive. And now they have stepped up to help out once again. I can’t express how proud I am of our staff; they give of their hearts, their minds, and now from their wallets – what a great bunch of people!"
LOCATION FOR NEW HOSPITAL ANNOUNCED
Patience is a virtue and in this case, the key to the building site of the new St. John’s Lutheran Hospital. Having acquired 2 of the necessary 3 parcels of land, Bill Patten, CEO of St. John’s Lutheran Hospital met with the Libby City Council at their regular council meeting on January 20 to discuss acquisition of the 3rd and final piece; portions of 2nd Street and Dakota Avenue. The City Council was receptive to Patten’s proposal and now needs to work through the process of formally abandoning the requested properties. During his presentation Patten noted, "Now that we have discussed this topic in a public meeting, we plan to make a formal announcement tomorrow so that everyone can finally know "where" we plan to build the new facility." Pending the aforementioned action by the City Council, we can now announce that the location of the new hospital will be east of the Libby Care Center, between 2nd and 3rd Streets. "It was worth the wait," Patten said. "The owners were great to work with, and obviously this location is a win-win because of the adjacencies to the medical community that surrounds it." With the contractor Swank Enterprises, and architect CTA already in place, the next step is to secure financing. "There has been concern that the new hospital will cause area residents to pay more in taxes and that is just not the case," said Patten. "We are exploring a number of options from which we can secure funding for the project. In addition to applying for a Federal Appropriation we are looking at HUD 242, USDA and the Montana Facility Finance Authority financing as well as other private funding sources. Our Foundation has set a $1.5 million dollar fundraising goal to make the project more affordable, and we are hoping the community will embrace those fundraising efforts. However, regardless of the amount the Foundation raises, we will not ask for property or sales tax support." No word on groundbreaking at this time. "Given the state of the economy we are moving forward with caution," added Patten. "We know that a building project like this will be a great shot in the arm for our local economy, but we will make sure that all the i’s are dotted, and t’s are crossed before we break ground. We are still hoping for summer of 2009, but will adjust our plans if the financing process takes longer." The announcement to build a new hospital in Libby was made in August of 2008, but the planning for the new facility has been going on for over a year and a half. "The master plan looked at our current facility, the amount of space we have versus the amount of space needed by the departments, along with a review of the current infrastructure. In addition, it analyzed the demographics of our community, the number and type of medical staff providers who practice at St. John’s, and the current financial condition of the hospital," reflected Patten. "The recommendation to build a new hospital was not a decision Administration took lightly. The Board charged us with crafting a solution that would address our current facility weaknesses while positioning us for the future. The decision to build a new hospital does just that!" From outdated surgery suites to cramped patient rooms with shared toilet facilities the list of needs for the current hospital facility is endless. St. John’s was completed in 1952; an eternity ago in terms of how technology has become part of healthcare delivery in America. In an effort to keep up with the growing demands and changes in the healthcare industry, St. John’s has expanded and/or remodeled the facility in 1983, 2002, and 2006, adding a total of 38,480 square feet. They also added state of the art technology and sophisticated equipment like an MRI, Digital Radiology, Electronic Medical Records, advanced Surgical Equipment, Microbiology, Outpatient Chemotherapy, and most recently Digital Mammography. But even with all of these changes and improvements, advancements in healthcare delivery have stretched the current facility to its limits both in space and physical plant (infrastructure). The master planning process clearly revealed that the current facility can no longer grow with the medical needs of Lincoln County or the advancements in healthcare delivery. For the past four months the management team at St. John’s have been diligently working with the CTA Architectural Group to design the interior and exterior of the facility. According to Patten the new facility is being designed to compliment the surrounding area. "We took a Wilderness Lodge approach to the exterior of the building and plan to landscape using as much of the natural area as possible," stated Patten. The interior of the hospital has been the major focus of the hospital managers in their work with the architects to make sure that the department design and adjacencies are correct for efficient, confidential, and comfortable patient care. The ~77,000 square foot building will cost an estimated $36,000,000 plus financing costs. After numerous meetings with the design group, the new hospital is taking shape. According to Patten, the process has been very positive. In September a team of employees from St. John’s took tours of other recently completed hospitals that were similar to St. John’s in size and in services. "We really had an advantage by taking this step. We talked at length with the staff at each hospital asking them what they liked and disliked about their new facilities and gained valuable insight as to what our hospital should include. We borrowed many of the ideas that they liked, and I guess you could say, we learned from their mistakes," said Patten. Each manager at St. John’s was charged with the task of designing efficient space for their current staff and services, as well as looking into the future to make sure they were prepared for the inevitable expansion. A "growth plan" was developed for each department that will most likely need to grow in the future. For example, the Imaging Department is one of the fastest growing departments at St. John’s having added sophisticated equipment like MRI, Dexa Bone Scanning, and Digital Mammography in just the past three years. "Healthcare does not operate in a vacuum," stated David Broderick, RT, Imaging Manager at St. John’s. "Our practice has been to look many steps beyond tomorrow in order to anticipate future needs. We have found that as technology advances, so to do its space requirements. We need to look ahead and see what the needs of our department will be 10 or 20 years from now and plan for those needs. Our community, with its unique healthcare needs related to asbestos-exposure diseases, will soon need a more advanced CT machine. However, we don’t have the space in our current building for a larger machine and we don’t have adequate electrical and ventilation resources for a bigger machine. We need to make sure our new facility will fit the equipment of today as well as tomorrow." Many community members wonder what is in store for healthcare services when the new hospital is completed. "As the national shortage of physicians and other professional healthcare providers becomes more acute, our new facility will become even more important as a recruitment and retention tool," stated Jeanie Gentry, Vice President of Allied Health. "While there are certain procedures we will never be equipped to handle like heart surgery, a new state-of-the-art facility will definitely enhance our recruitment abilities. The increased size of the operating rooms, the technology we will have in-house, and the user-friendliness of the facility are all factors that physicians, nurses and technologists consider when they decide where to work. We can’t attract the best and brightest to Libby if our facilities aren’t on par with everyone else in our area." Patten added, "We have such unique financial opportunities at this point in time that we are choosing to be more aggressive in our pursuit of federal dollars; funds that are available right now will most likely disappear within a year. But, this project is not about the money; it is about our patients. This entire effort is being undertaken so our patients and their families will feel that they are being cared for in a facility that exudes professionalism, with top-notch equipment and technology, and that they are being treated like we would treat our own families."
St. John's Lutheran Hospital in 1925.
ST. JOHN’S TO BUILD NEW HOSPITAL
Wednesday, August 6, 2008, Libby, MT. At the Trustees meeting on Tuesday, August 5, 2008, the Board of Trustees of St. John’s Lutheran Hospital unanimously voted to build a new hospital facility. The project, which has taken months of intensive research and planning, is scheduled to begin within the next 24 months. Since September 2007, hospital administration has worked with planning consultants from The Hammes Company. The Hammes Company, a Denver based architectural and master planning firm, specializes in healthcare facility master planning and project development.
According to Bill Patten, CEO at St. John’s, the recently completed master planning process was very thorough. "The master plan looked at our current facility; the amount of space we have versus the amount of space needed by the departments, along with a review of the current infrastructure. In addition, it analyzed the demographics of our community, the number and type of medical staff providers who practice at St. John’s, and the current financial condition of the hospital." Reflecting on the process that the Board used before making this decision Patten said, "The recommendation to build a new hospital was not a decision Administration took lightly. The Board charged us with crafting a solution that would address our current facility weaknesses while positioning us for the future. This decision does just that!"
KC Hoyer, Marketing Manager for St. John’s stated, "As the national shortage of physicians and other professional healthcare providers becomes more acute, our facility will become even more important as a recruitment and retention tool. In addition, our patients have a choice about where they receive their healthcare. Our new hospital will be one more way we can demonstrate our commitment to providing ‘Excellent Healthcare Close to Home’ with state of the art equipment and facilities."
Patten added, "This decision is the first in a series of steps we will take over the coming months in order to make this project a reality. Keeping our community up-to-date on project details will be an important priority throughout this process."
St. John's Lutheran Hospital in 2008.
Planning For Tomorrow. Care you can count on...always! Introduction For more than 57 years, St. John’s Lutheran Hospital has provided excellent healthcare for the residents of Lincoln County, Montana. Our founders saw the need for a community hospital and acted on that vision so that today, Lincoln County residents and visitors have access to wellness and healthcare services without having to drive more than 90 miles to find the next hospital. As we prepare for a new era in healthcare, we believe that quality healthcare services are a "must-have" for our neighbors, friends, and families who live and work in this rural area. In order to provide quality healthcare for many years into the future, we must replace and update our facilities to meet today’s healthcare needs while positioning our hospital for the ever-changing advances of modern medicine.
"Based on the recommendation of the master plan, St. John’s Lutheran Hospital will take the steps necessary to build a new hospital. The estimated project budget is $33M and construction will begin within the next two building seasons." SJLH Board of Trustees Unanimously Approved Motion, August 5, 2008
As we begin our building journey, we understand that there are many questions we must answer. This document will give a brief overview of the construction project we are planning as well as a little history of St. John’s.
WHAT are we doing? We are building a new healthcare facility that will meet the growing healthcare needs of the residents of Lincoln County for decades into the future.
WHO is going to design and build the new facility? · Master Planning & Program Manager: The Hammes Company, Colorado. · Designer: CTA Architectural and Engineering Firm, Kalispell MT. · Construction Manager: Swank Enterprises, Kalispell MT. All three of these firms have great experience with Critical Access Hospital projects and are committed to using as many local resources as possible.
WHEN will it be done? We plan to break ground within the next 24 months. Once we break ground, we hope to have the facility completed within 15 months.
WHERE will it be located? As of the date of this printing (January 12, 2009), we cannot yet announce the location of the new hospital. We will make the "big announcement" as soon as we have a signed "buy/sell" agreement. have a signed "buy/sell" agreement.
HOW will we pay for it Not with local property or sales tax dollars!!! Many options are being evaluated as we shop for the best terms. Some of those options include HUD, USDA, Montana Facility Finance Authority, as well as a Federal Appropriation. Philanthropy will also play a key role in this project. And we won’t raise prices just to pay for this project. We will continue to charge below the National average, just as we already are doing!
WHY do we need a new hospital? · SPACE! The number one reason for a facility replacement is space. We are cramped now and cannot expand any further! After months of professional planning and research we found that we need a minimum of 74,000 square feet to meet our current needs. Our current facility is 56,000 square feet. By comparison, the new hospital recently built in Whitefish, Montana, a community with a similar service area, is approximately 84,000 square feet. · FUNCTION. Increased demand in patient services over the past three years has made it painfully clear that our current facility and equipment will no longer be able to keep up with our growing number of patients, or the advances in healthcare delivery. In the past three years, we have seen a 29% growth in our surgical cases (45% inpatient, 26% outpatient), and a 71% growth in emergency room visits. Outpatient visits have increased by 7.38% over the past 2 years. · INFRASTRUCTURE. We have no capacity left for more electricity, hot water, cool air, etc. Most of the hospital has obsolete voltage, and the back-up generator is at capacity. Re-wiring, re-plumbing and re-venting an old cement building is not easily done.
HOW MUCH will it cost? We researched two choices… Should we expand or replace the facility? Based on the results of our recently completed master plan, that is an easy question to answer! In our planning and research we left no rock unturned. We examined the options to correct our space problems and came up with two solutions. Add on, as we have done in the past or replace the facility. The answer was in the numbers: · Renovate the Facility: $29,000,000. Keep in mind that this option requires a lot of time. Once we build the wing and move what needs to be moved into it, we would need to renovate the vacated area into other usable space. The projected time to complete the expansion and subsequent renovations was 5-7 years and would create many inconveniences for patients and practitioners AND we would still have portions of the building that are more than 57 years old! · Replace the Facility: $33,000,000. This facility will be built on a new site so there will be no inconvenience to patients. And the project will be much shorter; financing requirements state that we must complete the project within 18 months. Note: It is important to keep in mind that the renovation and replacement estimates do not include financing costs. Financing and reserve requirements will add additional millions to the total project cost.
OUR CONCLUSION: Build a new hospital! It doesn’t make sense to spend almost the same amount of money—with a lot more disruption for our physicians, our employees and our patients—to get a renovated building instead of something new that will truly meet our needs. Like the old family Ford, at some point it makes more sense to buy a new model rather than continue to replace the transmission, engine, etc. We strongly believe that building a new hospital is the most fiscally responsible option to meet the needs of our community…….now and tomorrow!
The Front Entrance of the original St. John's Lutheran Hospital built in 1952.
Additional, specific examples highlight our space/infrastructure needs include: Infrastructure: Our physical plant is at capacity. The 208-volt service is at maximum load and is an obsolete voltage. Required voltage of 480 is 70% loaded and there is no room for switchgear expansion. Examples: Radiology, medical equipment and other large power consuming equipment served by 480-volt power are not on emergency power. Recently our kitchen wanted to add a double boiler; a small request, but one we could not honor because we do not have the 208 supply that it required. Basement: The basement is not adequate for plant expansion. Examples: No space for new equipment. Not accessible for installation of new equipment. No access for distribution to new wings or additions. Imaging Department: Based on our population and the trends in health care we will need to upgrade to a 64-slice CT scan within the next 3 years. A 64-Slice CT requires 650 square feet of space. Currently our CT room, with nowhere to expand in the current facility, is 350 square feet. Example: When a patient with asbestosis has a CT scan they are required to hold their breath for approximately 20-30 seconds during the procedure. With a 64-Slice CT Scanner the time they are required to hold their breath is reduced by an average of 25 seconds causing less stress and discomfort. Holding your breath might seem a simple task to some of us, but it is grueling for those in our community suffering from asbestosis and other lung diseases. Operating Room: Our operating rooms are half the size of what they should be. Example: AIA Guidelines require a new Orthopedic OR to be 600 square feet of clear floor space. Our three operating rooms range from 306 square feet to 420 square feet, only one of which narrowly meets the industry standard of a minimum 400 square feet of clear floor space. Patient Rooms: Our current patient rooms are 166 square feet and include a shared toilet. By comparison, the patient rooms at North Valley Hospital in Whitefish are 320 square feet and the rooms at Kalispell Regional are 230 square feet. Examples: Today's average universal patient room size is about 300 square feet. Larger rooms provider better access to the patient for testing and equipment. Adequate space is needed to accommodate family and friends. Sharing a toilet, in a private room, is not today's industry standard Dietary space. The kitchen was designed to serve 50 meals a day and currently averages 300 meals per day!
Looking at our hospital, one would think that building new is not necessary. That¡¯s because we are doing our jobs to provide quality care in a quality facility, making it work no matter what. However, space and physical plant capacity are now issues that we can no longer work around. The time has come to evolve our services and facilities to keep pace with medical advancements. To do that in a fashion that causes the least disruption to patient care and in the most financially responsibly manner, we must rebuild. I am 100% in support of this project. Lance Ercanbrack, MD General Surgeon
The Outcome - a new facility will: Provide a state-of-the art facility that will serve Libby for the next 30+ years. Facilitate recruitment/retention of physicians and professional staff. Provide departments with the righy amount of square footage. Allow for future growth. Get the attention of the public, and encourage residents to use the local healthcare services. Improve Emergency Department design. Provide for properly sized patient rooms with private bathrooms/showers. Optimize departmental adjacencies/efficiencies, and resolve patient accessibility issues. Allow for an upgrade to a 64-slice CT scanner. Expand kitchen space to meet current volumes. Resolve infrastructure issues, specifically Update the 208-voltage system. Expand the capacity of the emergency generator. Add 480-voltage to the emergency generator. Provide additional parking capacity. Provide adequate operating room space The Basement will not accommodate necessary plant expansion.
What happens to the current facility? We do NOT plan to tear the current building down. After all, the problem is not that the building is crumbling around us. It just no longer meets our needs as an acute care facility. But for other uses it still has a useful life. A number of different options are being explored including office suites, assisted living units, clinics, etc.
A legacy of care… A brief history of St. John’s Lutheran Hospital St. John's Lutheran Hospital is a Critical Access, Not-For-Profit, freestanding community hospital with state-of-the-art technology not typically found in 25-bed rural hospitals. A volunteer 12 member Board of Trustees governs St. John’s. We meet critical needs without regard to race, religion, gender, physical or mental condition, or ability to pay. During fiscal year 2008, we provided $30 million in services; we wrote off more than $8,900,000 in uncompensated care (charity care, bad dept, and contractual write-offs). Our Mission is… To provide "Excellent Healthcare Close to Home" by being a great place for employees to work, physicians to practice medicine, and patients to receive care. Vision is…be the trusted centerpiece of our community healthcare, combining our passion for service with financially responsible planning. Our original hospital building was completed in 1952. St. John’s Lutheran Hospital was created with the backing of community members that were affiliated with the J. Neils Lumber Company and the local St. John Lutheran Church. The local congregation allowed our founders to use their 501c3 status until we received our own federal not-for-profit designation. The St. John’s name was retained in recognition of the support of those people. In an effort to meet the growing demands and changes in the healthcare industry, St. John’s expanded and/or remodeled the building in 1983, 2002, and 2006, bringing the entire facility (not counting outbuildings) to just over 56,000 square feet. Along the way, we added state-of-the-art technology and sophisticated equipment like a MRI, Digital Radiology, Electronic Medical Records software, Microbiology, a Dexa Scanner, and most recently a Digital Mammography unit. Serving the 16,000 residents of South Lincoln County, St. John’s employs 230 trained professionals, making us the largest private employers in Lincoln County. Because St. John’s is 90 miles from larger hospitals with more extensive services, we make it our priority to maintain critical services such as a 24/7 Emergency Department staffed with physicians certified in advanced cardiac and trauma life support; a 3-bed Intensive/Critical Care Unit; imaging services that include MRI, CT, and ultra-sound; a 24-hour full-service laboratory including microbiology and blood banking; and 2-full-time paramedics.
Fiscal Year 2008: - 1,317 surgeries were performed in our 3-suite surgical unit. - 31,512 individuals visited St. John’s for some type of outpatient services. - 1,098 in-patients stayed at St. John’s. - 95 babies were delivered in our comfortable birthing suites. - 6,596 emergencies were treated in our emergency department. - 5,110 individuals were seen at our on-site, walk-in Prompt Care Clinic. - 67 Out-Patient Chemotherapy patients stayed Close-to–Home, and to their families, for a combined total of 461 treatments. - St. John’s Home Health made 3020 visits to homebound patients. - We employ 230 employees with an annual payroll of approximately $9,600,000 making us the largest private employer in Lincoln County.
In Conclusion: We look forward to working with our community and all our partners in making this vision a reality. Please contact us with any further questions you may have!
Location for New Hospital Announced
Patience is a virtue and in this case, the key to the building site of the new St. John’s Lutheran Hospital. Having acquired 2 of the necessary 3 parcels of land, Bill Patten, CEO of St. John’s Lutheran Hospital met with the Libby City Council at their regular council meeting on January 20 to discuss acquisition of the 3rd and final piece; portions of 2nd Street and Dakota Avenue. The City Council was receptive to Patten’s proposal and now needs to work through the process of formally abandoning the requested properties. During his presentation Patten noted, "Now that we have discussed this topic in a public meeting, we plan to make a formal announcement tomorrow so that everyone can finally know "where" we plan to build the new facility." Pending the aforementioned action by the City Council, we can now announce that the location of the new hospital will be east of the Libby Care Center, between 2nd and 3rd Streets. "It was worth the wait," Patten said. "The owners were great to work with, and obviously this location is a win-win because of the adjacencies to the medical community that surrounds it." With the contractor Swank Enterprises, and architect CTA already in place, the next step is to secure financing. "There has been concern that the new hospital will cause area residents to pay more in taxes and that is just not the case," said Patten. "We are exploring a number of options from which we can secure funding for the project. In addition to applying for a Federal Appropriation we are looking at HUD 242, USDA and the Montana Facility Finance Authority financing as well as other private funding sources. Our Foundation has set a $1.5 million dollar fundraising goal to make the project more affordable, and we are hoping the community will embrace those fundraising efforts. However, regardless of the amount the Foundation raises, we will not ask for property or sales tax support." No word on groundbreaking at this time. "Given the state of the economy we are moving forward with caution," added Patten. "We know that a building project like this will be a great shot in the arm for our local economy, but we will make sure that all the i’s are dotted, and t’s are crossed before we break ground. We are still hoping for summer of 2009, but will adjust our plans if the financing process takes longer." The announcement to build a new hospital in Libby was made in August of 2008, but the planning for the new facility has been going on for over a year and a half. "The master plan looked at our current facility, the amount of space we have versus the amount of space needed by the departments, along with a review of the current infrastructure. In addition, it analyzed the demographics of our community, the number and type of medical staff providers who practice at St. John’s, and the current financial condition of the hospital," reflected Patten. "The recommendation to build a new hospital was not a decision Administration took lightly. The Board charged us with crafting a solution that would address our current facility weaknesses while positioning us for the future. The decision to build a new hospital does just that!" From outdated surgery suites to cramped patient rooms with shared toilet facilities the list of needs for the current hospital facility is endless. St. John’s was completed in 1952; an eternity ago in terms of how technology has become part of healthcare delivery in America. In an effort to keep up with the growing demands and changes in the healthcare industry, St. John’s has expanded and/or remodeled the facility in 1983, 2002, and 2006, adding a total of 38,480 square feet. They also added state of the art technology and sophisticated equipment like an MRI, Digital Radiology, Electronic Medical Records, advanced Surgical Equipment, Microbiology, Outpatient Chemotherapy, and most recently Digital Mammography. But even with all of these changes and improvements, advancements in healthcare delivery have stretched the current facility to its limits both in space and physical plant (infrastructure). The master planning process clearly revealed that the current facility can no longer grow with the medical needs of Lincoln County or the advancements in healthcare delivery. For the past four months the management team at St. John’s have been diligently working with the CTA Architectural Group to design the interior and exterior of the facility. According to Patten the new facility is being designed to compliment the surrounding area. "We took a Wilderness Lodge approach to the exterior of the building and plan to landscape using as much of the natural area as possible," stated Patten. The interior of the hospital has been the major focus of the hospital managers in their work with the architects to make sure that the department design and adjacencies are correct for efficient, confidential, and comfortable patient care. The ~77,000 square foot building will cost an estimated $36,000,000 plus financing costs. After numerous meetings with the design group, the new hospital is taking shape. According to Patten, the process has been very positive. In September a team of employees from St. John’s took tours of other recently completed hospitals that were similar to St. John’s in size and in services. "We really had an advantage by taking this step. We talked at length with the staff at each hospital asking them what they liked and disliked about their new facilities and gained valuable insight as to what our hospital should include. We borrowed many of the ideas that they liked, and I guess you could say, we learned from their mistakes," said Patten. Each manager at St. John’s was charged with the task of designing efficient space for their current staff and services, as well as looking into the future to make sure they were prepared for the inevitable expansion. A "growth plan" was developed for each department that will most likely need to grow in the future. For example, the Imaging Department is one of the fastest growing departments at St. John’s having added sophisticated equipment like MRI, Dexa Bone Scanning, and Digital Mammography in just the past three years. "Healthcare does not operate in a vacuum," stated David Broderick, RT, Imaging Manager at St. John’s. "Our practice has been to look many steps beyond tomorrow in order to anticipate future needs. We have found that as technology advances, so to do its space requirements. We need to look ahead and see what the needs of our department will be 10 or 20 years from now and plan for those needs. Our community, with its unique healthcare needs related to asbestos-exposure diseases, will soon need a more advanced CT machine. However, we don’t have the space in our current building for a larger machine and we don’t have adequate electrical and ventilation resources for a bigger machine. We need to make sure our new facility will fit the equipment of today as well as tomorrow." Many community members wonder what is in store for healthcare services when the new hospital is completed. "As the national shortage of physicians and other professional healthcare providers becomes more acute, our new facility will become even more important as a recruitment and retention tool," stated Jeanie Gentry, Vice President of Allied Health. "While there are certain procedures we will never be equipped to handle like heart surgery, a new state-of-the-art facility will definitely enhance our recruitment abilities. The increased size of the operating rooms, the technology we will have in-house, and the user-friendliness of the facility are all factors that physicians, nurses and technologists consider when they decide where to work. We can’t attract the best and brightest to Libby if our facilities aren’t on par with everyone else in our area." Patten added, "We have such unique financial opportunities at this point in time that we are choosing to be more aggressive in our pursuit of federal dollars; funds that are available right now will most likely disappear within a year. But, this project is not about the money; it is about our patients. This entire effort is being undertaken so our patients and their families will feel that they are being cared for in a facility that exudes professionalism, with top-notch equipment and technology, and that they are being treated like we would treat our own families."
Copyright 2005-10 St. John's Lutheran Hospital, Libby, Montana
