By JIM AUSTIN
Editor

Bassett Healthcare detailed a $52 million facilities master plan Tuesday afternoon that will reshape patient care and see the hospital through the coming decades.

Bassett President and CEO Dr. William Streck said during a presentation to the village planning board that the plan is a renovation and upgrade to the hospital's 32 year-old structure and will take five to eight years to complete.

One of the key components of the project will be the expansion of the inpatient care facility that includes adding a fifth floor. The proposed additional floor will house a new 12- to 14-bed intensive care unit, a 22-bed progressive care unit, dialysis and respiratory care services.

Funding for the $52 million dollar project will come from three sources — philanthropy, accrued reserves, and borrowing, said Streck. Currently the money for phase one is in hand, he said.

The hospital, said Michael Stein, Vice-President for External Affairs, has a history of successful philanthropy.

The plan also calls for a 20 percent reduction in the number of patient beds.

The master plan takes into account the growth and increasing complexity of critical care in today's world of medicine as well as addressing the trend toward more and more outpatient care, according to Streck.

People tend to have shorter hospital stays today meaning a more rapid turnover in bed space which allows the hospital to reduce the number of beds and focus on delivering more critical care.

The master plan takes into account changing standards in healthcare and the natural deterioration of the facility due to age, according to Bassett Healthcare Vice-President for Systems Support Joe Middleton

Middleton said that when the facility was opened in 1970, the current design standard required only 256 square feet per patient bed. Today, that has climbed to 450 square feet or more.

The same holds true for operating rooms. Changes in technology and new operative procedures have increased the size of operating rooms from 1,400 square feet 30 years ago to 2,700 square feet, almost twice as much.

According to Middleton, part of the preliminary design process included a market assessment which showed it would be possible to reduce the bed capacity from 188 to 148 and "continue to deliver high quality medical care to the community."

The new fifth floor is part of the $19 million first phase of the plan which hospital officials said they would like to start construction for early this summer. The first phase, Middleton said, is focused on getting the hospital's new cardiac program going.

Also included in the first phase is a south terrace expansion which will be a two-level addition between the inpatient building and building one, the original fieldstone hospital built in 1915. The addition will accommodate growth in the surgical recovery area, pharmacy, radiology and equipment storage.

The mechanical "penthouse" is part of phase one and will put in place some of the new or upgraded mechanical systems that will replace the current ones as the renovation of the building continues in subsequent phases.

The hospital expects the plan, when complete, will add approximately 45 employees to the payroll, a two percent increase.

Planning board chairman Paul Kuhn said following the meeting he was "very impressed" with the plan.

Kuhn said the fact the hospital is in a residential district will be the biggest issue the institution faces during the review process.

There will be a need to obtain a variance for the height of the structure and the side yard setback, but those are matters for the zoning board of appeals.

The planning board will be paying particular attention to traffic congestion and parking problems that spill over into the surrounding residential neighborhood, he said.

"But those things are already there. Parking has been a problem in the residential areas and the extent we can improve that will be a plus. We will try to ease that situation for residents," Kuhn said, adding that hospital officials seem "attuned to that problem and willing to work with us."

"We realize we have a serious issue with on street parking," Middleton told the planning board.

The plan includes a five percent increase in the number of parking spaces for a new total of 1,210. Officials predict the changes in the hospital will result in 10 additional vehicular trips in an eight-hour workday.

The hospital did its own check of license plates to see where its employees are parking and are working to address on-street employee parking problems.

Streck said the parking situation had been analyzed, but they were willing to look at it again. The increase in the number of spaces included in the plan will be sufficient to meet needs for the first phase of the plan, but whether it will address needs further into the future is not as clear.

Middleton said there are three acres of land at the rear of the Harrison House which could be developed for parking.

Steck added that they are not advocating its development, but it is one option.

A parking structure was considered for lots two and three adjacent to the river, but visual impact and prohibitive expenses caused them to abandon the idea. There was an issue with the soil structure that would have required six foot diameter caissons for support, Middleton explained.

Architects have worked to blend the structure as much as possible with its surroundings and that will be achieved by below grade construction of some of the terrace elements.

Landscaping will help to visually bring the building down into the hillside, Middleton said. The original hospital campus included rose gardens and they plan to work them into the landscaping changes.

The hospital is attempting to create "the concept of an estate, instead of an inner city mall," he said.

Dr. Gilbert Vincent, one of the planning board's historical and architectural advisors said he thinks the hospital building will look better with the additional story. "I think it looks great and will solve a lot of problems," he said.

The planning process, according to Middleton, has taken into consideration the impact of the project on the surrounding neighborhood and although construction is disruptive, it will mitigated as it has been during previous projects.

The hospital plans to hold a meeting with its neighbors on February 4 to discuss the project.

The plan will change vehicular and pedestrian movement and proposes to create a pedestrian greenway and shift a short section of River Street to the west. The changes will help separate pedestrian and vehicular traffic and improve safety and traffic flow.

The hospital proposes to pay for upgrades to some village infrastructure, particularly the sewer line near the power plant.

Following the creation of the intensive care unit on the new fifth floor in phase one, the master plan calls for the renovation of the remainder of the inpatient facility. Through the next four years, each patient care area will be upgraded.

Existing space will be converted to private rooms to enhance clinical care by providing physical isolation for patients who require this environment and ensuring privacy when necessary.

"This work will also provide private consultation rooms and family meeting rooms so that families who need to be together in private can do so in difficult times," Middleton wrote in his letter to the board.

Further into the future, there are north and east terrace additions included in the master plan, although some details of the later phases of the plan are still being worked out.

The planning board may begin completion of the environmental impact statement required for the project and has scheduled a public hearing on the facilities master plan for its meeting on February 26.