New St. Mary's surgical suite work to begin in January

LEWISTON — Construction at St. Mary's Regional Medical Center should move from the emergency room to a new operating room suite sometime in January.

Hospital officials say the demolition of the office building at 95-97 Campus Ave. should begin once work on the emergency room wraps up in January. The office building connects the main hospital to the Lepage Conference Center.

Jennifer Radel, community relations manager for St. Mary's Health System, said the new building will include larger operating rooms, a pharmacy and a larger suite to sterilize operating room equipment.

"Right now, it's designed to house doctors' offices and administration," Radel said. "But the new operating room will use space differently. It has to be very different. Because of that, it's cheaper to demolish it and put up a new building than it would be just make the old one work."

The building's current occupants will be relocated to other areas of the hospital, she said. The project represents a $25.5 million expansion, Radel said.

Work tripling the size of the Emergency Department is scheduled to wrap up in January. The department will feature 30 walled medical exam rooms that are larger and more private than the current rooms.

"It's really a timing issue," Radel said. "We didn't want to have too many projects going at once. So, this new project can't be completed until other projects are complete."

City councilors voted Tuesday to change the zoning for the site, letting the hospital build a wider building closer to roads and setbacks.

staylor@sunjournal.com