Fairfield Hospital District directors got a look last week at the floorplan for a proposed remodeling and expansion of the hospital.

The plan calls for expansion and remodeling of the emergency department and of patient rooms, and for the medical clinic adjoining the hospital to be razed and a new facility built.

Cost for the entire project is estimated at $15 million, about half of which is expected to be born by East Texas Medical Center which leases the hospital from the district.

Meeting with the FHD board were architects Dan Polanchek, Steve Fitzpatrick and ETMC corporate director of plant services Robert Leighton.

Division of duties is that Polanchek’s firm produces virtual plans and a general visual representation of the project, Fitzpatrick’s firm prepares construction drawings and works on the project through completion, and Leighton is a liaison for ETMC.

New construction includes a clinic to house medical practitioners, administrative offices and outpatient services, and a new inpatient wing of 10 beds.

To be remodeled is the current inpatient wing—-an area licensed for 48 patient beds will be remodeled to 20 beds in larger rooms—-and the emergency department, which will be enlarged.

Polanchek reports that it costs $1-1.5 million per bed to build a hospital from scratch, but in the case of Fairfield the existing facility can be utilized.

“You are in the right location and the chassis of this building is fine,” he says.

The hospital sits on a 9.314-acre site that provides ample space for the hospital to expand.

Proposed by ETMC is to build the new clinic and remodel the emergency room simultaneously, then tackle the new and remodeled inpatient areas later.

FHD directors already have approved pursuing the emergency room and patient wing/remodeling, and are being asked to change the priority for construction.

“We want to look at this comprehensively, not just add pieces,” Polanchek says.

He points out that the role of hospitals has changed since the Fairfield facility was built, changing from a focus on inpatient care to a focus on outpatient services.

Also, hospital rooms are being designed larger, which remodeling the inpatient area will address.

Under his design, Polanchek explains that the hospital will be divided into three distinct areas, medical clinic, emergency department and inpatient rooms.

He also notes that the highest priority in the plan is to enlarge and remodel the emergency department.

When completed, the emergency department will be about 5,200 square feet, about three times its current size, and include a larger waiting area and nine patient treatment rooms, Fitzpatrick reports.

Most of the emergency department expansion area comes from taking over what are now hospital administrative offices.

The new clinic will be built on the west side of the hospital where an existing clinic stands—-the existing clinic will be razed to make room.

Planned for the new clinic building, which will be 20,000 square feet, is space for eight medical practitioners, hospital administrative offices and outpatient services.

A new wing of 10 inpatient beds is planned for construction before the existing wing is remodeled in stages. The new inpatient wing will provide space during remodeling of existing patient rooms.

Leighton breaks down estimated costs as $9 million for the emergency department and new clinic, $4.5 million for the inpatient wing and remodeling, and $1.5 for infrastructure.

“We are trying to combine at least the emergency department and medical office building into one phase,” Leighton says.

He expects that construction drawings will be completed in May and construction should start in July, with completion of the emergency department and medical building taking about 24 months. Adding the 10-bed inpatient wing and remodeling existing areas should take about six months.

“Our plan is to proceed as we have been. If y’all have any recommendations, please let us know,” Leighton says.

ETMC has about $4 million committed to the Fairfield project and FHD administrative assistant Larry Ivy says he is in hopes that ETMC provides an additional $4 million.

That would leave about $7 million to be financed to complete the whole program, most likely funded by the hospital district.

FHD board members have yet to talk about financing options, which could come from a property tax hike, and to give its approval to building the medical office.