Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County is hoping to get funds for their planned laboratory expansion project and medical office building renovation project from the Wyoming State Loan and Investment Board (SLIB), and is looking to the county for help with the matching funds.
The commissioners voted 4-1 to mark $3 million out of county reserves to go toward the hospital as they apply for SLIB grants for their two projects.
Hospital CEO Irene Richardson and Foundation Director Tiffany Marshall spoke to the Board of County Commissioners during Tuesday’s meeting to discuss the projects and their funding.
The first project is a laboratory expansion and renovation Sweetwater Memorial has been planning and hoping to accomplish for some time. The project came about because of changes the hospital had to make to their laboratory facilities at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Marshall explained. In order to comply with safety guidelines, the hospital moved their main laboratory to the Foundation office, which is where it has stayed ever since.
The location at the Foundation office has both benefits and drawbacks, according to Marshall. The benefits including providing more immediate access to the lab and minimizing unnecessary foot traffic in the rest of the hospital which helps cut down on the spread of airborne antigens. The problems with the location include the need to increase staffing and operating expenses to staff two separate lab locations, lack of privacy for patient registration, insufficient plumbing and HVAC, the displacement of Foundation and Legal staff members from the office and potential unsafe specimen transportation during winter months since staff have to walk outside to get to the other lab.
Options the hospital has considered include keeping the lab in its current location as it is, renovating both the temporary and permanent labs in their current locations or renovating and expanding the permanent laboratory. Renovating both labs would be cheaper, costing between $3 million and $4 million, but would mean the hospital would have to continue staffing two separate locations, which increases expenses. Renovating and expanding the permanent lab location will cost approximately $8.7 million, but will solve all the existing problems and maintain the benefits, according to Marshall. The renovation would allow the lab to be easily accessible and minimize foot traffic in the rest of the hospital, would include a drive-thru location, would create a second floor providing more space for staff and equipment and would get all the lab staff together in one space again.
The second project is a renovation of the medical office building (MOB). The MOB currently houses over 15 specialty services, including obstetrics, pediatrics, neurology, internal medicine, pulmonology and the University of Utah clinics on the first floor. The current design has a fireplace in the entrance that takes up space, hinders vision and creates unnecessary foot traffic. There are also problems with directional assistance in the building, and a blast of air between doors when they open which spreads airborne antigens.
Options for the MOB include leaving it as it is or doing one of two possible renovation projects, Marshall explained. The first renovation project would remove the fireplace and change the doors, but has disadvantages including not allowing room for more growth. The second renovation project including a 700 square foot expansion and provides betters solutions to problems with the doors that also solve problems with parking. This renovation is expected to cost approximately $2.1 million.
The funding SLIB currently has available is through the Health and Human Services Capital Construction Fund through grants from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The total funds available are up to $85 million.
If the SLIB grants are approved, they will cover half of each project, meaning the lab renovation project will have $4,350,000 covered and require the same amount in matching funds, and the MOB project will have $1,050,000 covered and require the same amount in matching funds.
The due date to submit the applications for the grants is Aug. 15. All funds have to be obligated by Dec. 30, 2024 and all projects have to be finished by Dec. 30, 2026.
Commission Chairman Jeff Smith asked if the hospital was requesting the total matching fund amount from the county.
“To be honest we would like to ask for as much as you’d like to give us, and then we will work on being able to provide the rest of it through the hospital and/or Foundation,” Marshall answered.
The hospital lab expansion project was initially one of the projects submitted to be considered for inclusion in the specific purpose tax question on the upcoming general election ballot, but the commissioners chose to remove the project because they believed other sources of funding would be available to help cover it.
“In a tough economic time, is this more of a want than a need?” Commissioner Roy Lloyd asked. Lloyd also expressed concern over giving so much money to one entity when several other entities had projects they wanted considered that were left off the specific purpose tax list. He said he would like time to vet out and consider all the projects.
Commissioner Mary Thoman pointed out the hospital’s deadline to apply for the grants is coming up quickly. Smith added other entities might not be eligible for funding or ready to apply for it like the hospital is, and waiting to look at other propositions could mean missing out on available funds.
“This is an opportunity for us to double our money,” Smith said.
The commissioners voted 4-1 to approve a motion to set aside $3 million for the hospital projects. Lloyd voted “no” due to wanting more time to consider other projects. Thoman voted “yes” but added the provision she would like more time to look at the county’s finances and possibly change the dollar amount for the hospital later.
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