Lucas County Health Center’s Board of Trustees voted in a special meeting to move forward with a facility improvement project.
During the December 15 meeting, LCHC’s Facility Master Plan (FMP) team presented three options to the Board of Trustees. These options included pricing, timeline, square footage totals, pros/cons, and more. Following the presentation and discussion, the Board of Trustees voted to move forward with option #1 or the “expand in place” option.
“Our board voted to address the needs of our facility and invest in the future of healthcare for Lucas County residents,” said Phil Shealey, Chief Executive Officer. “At the end of the day, we are committed to providing our patients with the best care possible and this project will allow us to do that.”
The “expand in place” option includes utilizing a mixture of old and new for the facility. It allows LCHC to have facility priorities addressed first, including expanding the rural health clinic, expanding the specialty clinic, improving surgical services, enhancing emergency services, and creating a centralized registration area. Furthermore, it is the most patient friendly as it forms better traffic flow, creates few barriers during construction, and allows services to operate as normal with little to no interruption.
The project will also address long-term needs such as consolidation of outpatient services, improved visibility for nutritional services, and expanded conference rooms.
“It is important to note that we are still very much in the beginning stages of this project,” said Lori Johnson, Chief Operations Officer. “We still have a lot of details to get nailed down, but are excited about the prospects of improving our patient care.”
LCHC’s Leadership Team has been working with Invision Architecture and Bluestone Engineering for the last three years to identify options for improving Lucas County Health Center. This team, also known as the Facility Master Plan team, began by identifying needed repairs/improvements within the current building and, as the list grew, decided to explore the costs and pros/cons of constructing a new building.
“It is important to note that residents will not see an increase in their property taxes in relation to this project,” said Jay Christensen, Chief Financial Officer. “We have been in conversation with multiple financial advisors to identify the solution that is best for our long-term needs and we are confident the financing will support the project.”
For more details about the project, including projected timeline, frequently asked questions, and more, visit lchcia.com/building.
Lucas Couny Health Center is a critical access hospital serving Chariton and all of Lucas County.