Whitman Hospital starts energy savings project

Whitman Hospital & Medical Center Tuesday applied for a building permit for energy improvements and other projects with much of the work to be done on sections of the hospital that date back to 1968. Work will also include the kitchen and dietary areas and the hospital boiler systems.

Amount of the job on the permit was listed at $3,428,123. Debbie Glass, hospital CEO, said a lot of the work involves energy improvements to the older sections of the hospital.

“That part of the building now is over 45 years old,” Glass commented. The remaining part of the 1968 structure will get a new roof, wall insulation and new energy saving windows. Part of the original structure was razed for the hospital’s $19 million 2008-09 expansion which essentially makes up the operational areas of the hospital.

The 2009 remodeling also included relocation and enlarging of the hospital’s emergency room.

Glass said part of the work will include the basement boiler system. She noted HVAC systems for the different parts of the hospital, as it developed over the years, need to be better coordinated.

Another big change for the hospital involved the surgery wing with addition of same day surgery and recovery rooms in 2001.

The hospital job has contracted with Energy Savings Company as part of a $500,000 grant from the Department of Commerce. The project is designed to reduce energy expenses to qualify for the grant, Glass explained.

Construction manager for the project will be Apollo Solutions Group. The hospital also will fund part of the project with reserves and some revenue realized by refinancing previous bond issues at lower interest rates, Glass said.

Crews are already on the scene at the hospital to check out the buildings. She expects actual work will begin at the end of the month.

The permit fee to the city Tuesday for the project totaled $23,881.