Marion Chamber banquet highlighted by address from new hospital CEO

Marion Chamber banquet highlighted by address from new hospital CEO

Welton on new Baptist- Crittenden: ‘ We’re going to have all of the support services you have to have to run and operate a hospital 24- 7’

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It may not look like there is a whole lot is going on out at the site of the new Baptist Memorial Hospital-Crittenden other than some ground work. But there actually is a lot that had to be done underneath all that dirt.

“I know a lot of it is just dirt work so far,” said CEO & Administrator Brian Welton. “We hit the jackpot on gumbo right there on that corner of I-40 and Seventh. But I’m hoping that by November, you will start to see a hospital being built up off the ground.”

Welton was the guest of honor at the Marion Chamber of Commerce Annual Awards Banquet and gave an update on the progress of the new hospital.

Welton said much of the work that has been done on the site over the past year has been below ground.

Because of the unstable “gumbo” soil, contractors had to excavate 130 million tons of work. They then had to haul in 160 tons of sturdier dirt for the hospital to sit on. All of that dirt now has to settle and compact and push all of the water out before they can begin pouring the concrete foundation.

“It’s been a process,” Welton said. “I’ve talked to people who have built homes here and it sounds like everybody has encountered that at some point.”

On top of that, contractors also had to install 3,184 earthquake drainage systems, and 800 piers across the site to support the weight of the hospital.

“Needless to say, this hospital isn’t going anywhere for a long time,” Welton said. “This place is stuck to the ground.”

Welton said they expect to begin pouring the foundation in the next two to three months. The site already has curºbs and gutters and they expect to lay the first coat of asphalt in the next two to three weeks.

“Much of the site is already starting to settle and compact,” Welton said. “So we are seeing some action there. There is a little more remaining and I’m hoping we can pour the foundation in the next couple of months.”

The original plan called for a $25 million, 50,000 square foot hospital, but Baptist decided to expand the facility to 62,000 square feet. The new, expanded version is expected to cost $44 million.

The construction is being supported by a one cent sales tax which is expected to generate $32 million.

Baptist will pay all of the additional costs.

The Crittenden facility will be the 22nd hospital for Baptist Memorial Health Care and its first new location since 1999.

Construction will take from November 2017 to November 2018. Welton said they expect to see their first patients in January 2019.

Welton gave a virtual tour of what the hospital will look like both inside and out.

The facility will have 11 patient beds; 10 emergency rooms, which includes two trauma rooms; a results waiting area with reclining chairs where patients can wait for X-ray or test results; two operating rooms; and an endoscopy suite for colonoscopy, CT, MRI, and mammography.

“We’re going to have all of the support services you have to have to run and operate a hospital 24-7,” Welton said.

Baptist Memorial Hospital— Crittenden is expected to have 80 jobs.

“I hope you’re all excited about this project,” Welton said. “It’s only a patch of dirt right now. But we are only a couple of months away from seeing a facility.”

By Mark Randall