County hospitals request funds to aid expansion costs

Young County Commissioners heard a request last week for American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding from Olney Hamilton Hospital and Graham Regional Medical Center. Hospital CEOs requested a combined $600,000 in ARPA funds as both hospitals are in various stages of expansion.

Olney Hamilton Hospital CEO Mike Huff spoke first to commissioners on the hospital’s early plans for a new hospital or expansion of the current facilities. Huff said there were multiple options the hospital could take, all of which would incur architectural and engineering fees.

“So we have some good news. As you know, the new wind farm coming in and the hydrogen plant and majority of it’s within our taxing district,” Huff said. “The board has asked us to look at using those funds and build a new hospital. We go back 114 years and go back to the old hospital. The most recent addition was early 60s, so it’s time for a new plan. We’re looking at this in phases. First, we had to find out, ‘do we want to build a new hospital, refurb the old hospital or maybe a combination of both?’ And that’s just gonna take the architects and engineers time to do it. (...) So my request is on the ARPA allotment that you have, if you can fund $250,000 as working capital for (architectural and engineering fees) so that we can move this project along.”

Graham Regional Medical Center CEO Shane Kernell announced plans for an expanded surgery center in December 2021. GRMC plans to renovate the former Women’s Center into the Surgery Center of Graham. Kernell said the plan also includes connecting the renovated surgery center to the main hospital building, as well as an expanded waiting room area and an expansion of the building on the west side of the hospital, beginning on the southern end of the porch, and expanding south and west from the building. Kernell requested $350,000 in ARPA funds.

“We, too, are embarking upon a construction project. We’re probably a little bit further along than Olney, but ours is much smaller in scope,” Kernell said. “Ours is probably ($4 million to $4.5 million) in total, it will allow us to be built for the future. (...) We don’t have the consideration of the abatements that (...) our Olney hospital has had in the northern part of Young County. We may or may not see something with solar panels, who knows, that’s gonna be another 18 to 24 months out, if anything. And that being said, we have incurred some (architectural and engineering fees) already. We will incur a lot more, somewhere in the neighborhood of about $400,000 and our request for the ARPA funding is ($350,000). And the reason for the difference, Mike and I have talked before, I believe the first ARPA funding, Olney has received $350,000 for ambulances and lifts, as well as we received $250,000 for an ambulance. So just to be good partners together and to make sure that we’re in alignment in our funding requests. That’s why we’re asking for $350,000.”

For the full story, see the Saturday, Sept. 10 edition of The Graham Leader.