WILLITS, CA – A $350,000 grant for construction of a new Frank R. Howard Memorial Hospital building is working its way over Capitol Hill.
Congressman Mike Thompson’s office announced Friday the House of Representatives passed the 2010 Labor, Health and Human Services and Education (LHHSE) appropriations bill. The bill includes the grant, the latest installment in funding necessary to move the hospital.
The move serves two purposes, according to Margie Handley, president of the Frank R. Howard Foundation: bringing the hospital up to the state’s current seismic standards and doubling its size. “We’re up to capacity most days,” Handley said.
The critical access hospital provides acute care services to an approximately 2,100-square-mile portion of Mendocino County.
Handley didn’t have an estimate for when construction will begin, because the designs for the new building are being redrawn to cut costs. She said the foundation received a $188,000 grant last year to get the project started. The new grant will cover costs for bricks and mortar, she said.
“Mike Thompson has really gone to bat for us because he sees the need and the value for the community and our economy, because of all the lost logging jobs,” Handley said. She estimated construction cost for the new, 74,000-square-foot building will be less than $50 million, once the project goes out to bid again. She said that doesn’t include administrative costs,
Click here to read full article
Source: The Ukiah Daily Journal
