One down, two to go for the Northern Inyo Hospital Improvement Project in Bishop. Hospital Marketing Director Georgan Stottlemyre reports that staff now has the official go ahead to move into the new 14,000 square foot hospital support building.

This new support building behind the main hospital is slated to house the laboratory, pathology, purchasing, maintenance, biomedical engineering, and laundry facility. Stottlemyre says that many services have already started to move in. An open house is tentatively scheduled for April.

The second building, for digital imaging for radiology services, is nearing completion as well. Then the project gets tricky. The old main hospital building, with the tile roof, is scheduled to be demolished to make way for a new main hospital building. Northern Inyo Hospital cant just shut down during construction, so services in the building to be demolished have to be housed elsewhere once construction starts on the new, main hospital.

If all goes well, (and there are a number of ifs on the project,) crews could break ground on the new main hospital building in June with the aim of a 2010 completion date.

Voters approved $30 million in bonds to help pay for the new hospital buildings. Looking at a total cost of $50 million by the time the three buildings are done, the hospital is expected to cover the additional costs. Officials say that donations toward this large construction effort would be helpful.

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