Hospital Receives USDA Eligibility Notice

Still many steps to be taken before final approval is given

GOLD BEACH, OR (August 1, 2014) - The Curry Health District Board of Directors and Administration continue to advance the plan for the design and construction of the new replacement Curry General Hospital in Gold Beach. The USDA continues to be helpful, and CEO Andrew Bair, CFO Ken Landau, and Steve Wolters of Erdman are working well with their officials.

On the recommendation of the USDA to engage the services of a Project Manager, we have brought on board Shiels Obletz Johnson (SOJ) of Portland to assist throughout the application process. Tor Flatebo, a local PE, remains our Owner's Representative.

July 16, the Erdman group met via virtual "go-to-meetings" with clusters of departmental managers to further fine tune the layout for optimum efficiency.

Wolters was on site July 25 to meet with the Board, Administration and Steve Cruzen of SOJ to go over the most recent budget figures including the cost of the foundation. Not surprisingly and based upon the poor soil conditions discovered in the geological technical survey completed by the Galli Group, foundational costs are higher than the earliest estimate of $1 Million.

On July 28, we received an official eligibility notice from the USDA stating the agency has determined that our project is eligible for funding. This is a very important and positive milestone. There are still many steps to be taken before the final approval is given, and funding is not anticipated until within the next fiscal year of the USDA, which begins October 1. We still anticipate a 2016 completion date.

July 29, Erdman, the Board, Administration and the Steering Committee met to make some important decisions. The board opted to pursue design Option 1 - a 60,000 square foot, four level (top floor is a 9,000 square foot maintenance equipment "penthouse") structure with 18 patient beds, two OR rooms, an ER (3 exam rooms, 1 triage, 2-bay trauma room), Imaging/Radiology, Laboratory, inpatient Pharmacy, and a Clinic with 12 exam rooms. We are initially planning for mobile MRI services, with a conference center that can be converted to a future fixed MRI. The site location and building design allows for future expansion.

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