Ferrell Hospital expansion moving closer to fruition
Ferrell Hospital won a major victory when a state board approved their application for a major expansion in March, though the long process of bringing it to fruition has just begun, hospital CEO Alisa Coleman says.
"It's a long process, but it's worth it because we get better terms and will have a better interest rate on the money we borrow to pay for the expansion," Coleman said.
Ferrell Hospital opted to go through a program through the U.S. Department of Agriculture to fund the expansion and renovation of Eldorado's critical-access facility. While the process means extra steps, such as public hearings, Coleman said she and hospital personnel are putting the extra time in between steps to good use.
"In the meantime, we are working with our architect and our contractor to get a guarantee on a maximum price for each segment of the project," Coleman said.
"We've been working with them since Day One to make sure we think of everything before the project beings so that we don't have a lot of change orders that will drive up costs."
Coleman said she anticipates it will be the beginning of USDA's next fiscal year before any money is released.
"After there have been hearings and approvals at the local and state level, it goes to Washington D.C. for a final look and approval," she said. "We think this will be approved at the beginning of the next fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1. It's almost always better to come in at the beginning of a fiscal year when there's still plenty of money in the budget for that year."
Ferrell Hospital's application for its expansion, a $37.5 million project, received approval from the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board in March.
Coleman said while the process may seem long, the community will be pleased with the results.
"There are certain terms and conditions that have to be satisfied before we can even stick our shovels in the ground, so we're at the mercy of their timeline," she said. "But it will be worth it."</grou