RUMFORD – An open house to mark the completion of a year-long project to renovate Rumford Hospital drew more than 100 people Wednesday afternoon.
Phase two of the hospital’s three-phase major renovation and construction project cost $2 million and included a modern emergency department, a glassed-in and much larger lobby, entrance, waiting and reception area, and an updated and expanded day surgery unit. A new recovery room, central registration area and handicapped-accessible entranceway were also part of the project.
“We’re glad to get this phase done,” said chief executive officer of the hospital, John Welsh. “We plan to be here for a long time.”
This is the first major renovation since a wing was constructed at the rear of the building to house the dietary department and boilers in the 1970s. Prior to that, a medical/surgery wing was added in the 1960s. The original hospital on Franklin Street was built in 1926. The completed renovation is part two of a planned three-phase building project.
Last year, new air exchangers, boilers and elevators, among other things, were installed at the hospital for $1.5 million.
Welsh said the hospital now plans to go ahead with an application to the Department of Health and Human Services for a certificate of need that would allow construction of an addition at the rear of the hospital.
The $6.5 million project would consolidate the three in-patient units into one, and would provide private rooms for all patients. Now, said Welsh, the 25 beds are a combination of shared and private rooms.
He said plans are to submit the application by April 1. The hospital would then learn whether the certificate of need is approved by fall of 2006 and construction could begin in the fall of 2007.
Rumford Hospital funded the first two phases of the construction and renovation project through a combination of federal grants and savings achieved from becoming a critical access hospital. The critical access designation, according to a fact sheet from the hospital, allows the hospital greater Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement.
Kathi Schandelmeier, practice manager for the hospital’s doctors and one of several tour guides Wednesday afternoon, said the design of the modern, semicircular lobby and entrance area was chosen because of the hospital’s focus.
“This is bold and important to us. A modern update requires a modern look,” she said as she ushered people into the new emergency department.
The original entrance, with its majestic pillars, will still be open, but hospital officials are encouraging people to use the new entrance.
The new emergency room should be in use within a couple of weeks.
Architect for the project was the Vermont firm Freeman French Freeman. The general contractor was Ledgewood Construction of Portland.
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