Libby hospital plan moves forward
by Duane Williams, KLCB 1230 AM Libby News Radio
August 20, 2008
The new 32-million dollar Libby hospital plan is moving forward, Bill Patten, hospital administrator, told a community group Monday.
Patten said the most asked question, even from doctors and staff, is where the new hospital will be located. While Patten would not confirm or deny where it will be, he did tell the group there are three locations running on the rumor mill. Patten said he did not want to disclose the location for fear the property owner would privateer and increase the price beyond the hospital's ability to purchase the land. The three properties he said he has heard about are the former Libby drive-in theatre, an area of the Port Authority property adjacent to the U-Serve tennis courts and City Hall, and the former Rosenquest Ranch and Libby Feed Store, south of town, adjacent to the new Mental Health Center.
Building a new hospital was, as Patten put it, "a no brainer". Cost of remodeling the present hospital came to 29 million versus 32-million starting over. The necessary land is not available at the present location and adding another story is not an option because the 1952 foundation cannot support another level. The project will need between five and ten acres depending on the final footprint.
Patten said the hospital will keep the existing building and perhaps lease a portion to the Center for Asbestos Related Disease, and perhaps convert a portion into an assisted living center.
Of the 32 million dollars, the hospital will need to raise one million locally, the rest being provided by grants, federal appropriations, critical access hospital rebates, and loans. Patten said he did not anticipate raising the million a problem, given the local community's outstanding response to the million dollar endowment drive, and the $250,000 mammography fund raising effort.
The new hospital will have 25 beds, the same as the existing hospital.
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Story by Duane Williams, KLCB 1230 AM Libby News Radio, www.todaysbestcountryonline.com.
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