January 5 2018 meeting
About 25 people attended the Special Meeting of the Sublette County Rural Health Care Board of Trustees to discuss the location for the new Critical Access Hospital. Photo by Bob Rule, KPIN 101.1 FM Radio.
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Health Cared District Board of Trustees
January 5, 2017 Special Meeting of the Sublette County Rural Health Care District Board of Trustees to discuss the new Critical Access Hospital. Photo by Bob Rule, KPIN 101.1 FM Radio.
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Proposed CAH
One of three possible designs for the new CAH, overlain on the newly chosen hospital site location. Photo courtesy Sublette County Rural Health Care District.
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SCRHCD chooses Bloomfield as site for future hospital in Pinedale
by Pinedale Online!
January 5, 2018
The Sublette County Rural Health Care District (SCRHCD) Board of Trustees held a Special Meeting on Friday, January 5th in the Lovatt Room of the Pinedale Library to discuss the Critical Access Hospital (CAH). Approximately 25 members of the public attended.
Three topics were on the agenda for discussion and vote, and the meeting was limited to these three topics:
1. Deciding which site to purchase for the hospital
2. Deciding whether or not to include a clinic in the hospital construction
3. Deciding whether or not to include an ambulance building in the hospital construction
The Board considered three possible site locations. After evaluating merits of each site, the Board voted purchase the Bloomfield property as the location for the new hospital. The possible location in the Redstone subdivision south of the Sublette County Ice Arena was deemed less than optimal because of nearby residences and noise and traffic concerns. The other property being considered was a large vacant lot west of High Country Suites, north of US 191 on the west end of Pinedale. The Bloomfield location was approved by a vote of 4-1.
The Board also voted unanimously to approve moving the Pinedale Medical Clinic to the new hospital location. There was universal support for this plan, since without it, the medical staff would be located on opposite sides of Pinedale, making it difficult for medical personnel and patients to quickly travel between the Clinic and the Hospital. This was approved by a vote of 5 to 0.
The third discussion and decision topic was what to do about the Pinedale Ambulance barn. Both the clinic and adjacent ambulance barn buildings are owned by Sublette County and leased to the SCRHCD. It was decided that it would be preferred to have the ambulance services at the new hospital site location. The Board wanted the hospital designers to try to incorporate the ambulance barn logistics when designing the building plan options. If it becomes too expensive to include with the hospital construction, that aspect would be postponed to a later time. The cost to add the ambulance barn building into the hospital complex would be about $1.7 million additional to the hospital price tag.
Cost to build the new hospital will be $25-$30 million plus an additional $25-$30 million in interest, for a total cost of about $60 million for taxpayers over the lifetime of the 40-year loan. This does not include annual operational or personnel costs.
The new hospital/clinic building will be owned and managed by the Sublette County Rural Health Care District and is expected to be built by 2020. It is not known at this time what will happen to the old Pinedale clinic and ambulance barn, which are owned by Sublette County and leased to the SCRHCD.
The Pinedale Clinic was built in 2008 and is ten years old. The Pinedale Ambulance barn opened in 2007. The Pinedale Medical Clinic emergency room is already considered out of date and would require something like $500,000 to update it to expected new regulations (also true for the Marbleton Clinic).
Next steps in the CAH process are to complete the Preliminary Architectural Report by January 31 and to get USDA Rural Development Loan approval.
Thank you to Bob Rule, KPIN 101.1FM Radio, and the Sublette County Rural Health Care District for their contribution to this report.
Related Links:
Rural Health Care District board continues to move forward with Critical Access Hospital Pinedale Online, October 4, 2017
Pinedale Medical Clinic Construction Update Pinedale Online, May 28, 2007
Pinedale Clinic Opens Pinedale Online, January 7, 2008
Sneak preview inside the new Pinedale Medical Clinic Pinedale Online, October 3, 2007
Sand Draw Rescue Center and Ambulance Barn construction (now closed) Pinedale Online, June 1, 2007
Pinedale Ambulance Barn Pinedale Online, June 11, 2007.
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