A groundbreaking ceremony was held Jan. 20 at the site of the planned addition to the Little Colorado Medical Center in Winslow.
The event signified the beginning of what is expected to be a one-year project to expand the emergency room at the hospital. The 11,000-square foot addition will allow for a psychological examination room, two trauma rooms, three holding beds and eight exam rooms.
“It may be a little oversized, but it will make things a lot more manageable during our peak times, which can be flat out busy,” explained LCMC CEO Jeff Hamblen. He also noted that in the event of a tragedy resulting in numerous patients, the facility would be able to accommodate those needs by bringing in physicians from other areas.
The current facility has four exam rooms and no holding rooms. This means that if a patient needs to remain for observation from six to 24 hours, that’s one less room available for other patients who may need to be attended to.
Once complete, the new addition will house the entire emergency room and the existing facility will be utilized for other operations.
The cost for the new construction is estimated at approximately $4.8 million, with the design produced by the architectural firm of Mittlestaedt, Cooper & Associates of Phoenix and the construction being done by Loven Contracting Inc. of Flagstaff.
